Mutual Fund Industry Handbook

A Foreword by John C. Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group and one of the most respected leaders in the mutual fund industry, sets the stage for this authoritative book that explains the complexities of the phenomenal industry in simple terms.

Investors like the fact that mutual funds offer professional management, easy diversification, liquidity, convenience, a wide range of investment choices, and regulatory protection. Mutual Fund Industry Handbook touches on all of those features and focuses on the diverse functions performed in the day-to-day operations of the mutual fund industry.

You’ll learn about:

• Front-office functions-analysis, buying, and selling. * Back-office functions, including settlement, custody, accounting, and reporting.
• Commission structures-front-end loads, back-end loads, or level loads.
• The various fund categories used by the Investment Company Institute, Morningstar, and Lipper.
• The roles played by fund managers, investment advisors, custodial banks, distributors, transfer agents, and other third-party service providers. With more than 8,000 funds, more than $8 trillion in assets, and more than 87 million individual investors at the end of 2004, mutual funds – professionally managed pooled investment vehicles that give people the opportunity to participate in the securities market without having to become money managers – are very popular.

This book focuses on open end funds, and gives you a comprehensive inside look at the mutual fund industry, including real-life examples of how specific functions are performed at various firms. You’ll explore industry history and structure, investment management, portfolio operations, accounting, auditing, legal compliance, customer service, distribution, globalization, and e-commerce. You’ll also learn about the cost of various mutual fund operations – both to the fund companies and to investors.

Mutual Fund Industry Handbook does not provide information about how to select mutual funds or delve into specific funds or categories of funds. Rather, it describes every facet of mutual fund operations in an accessible and easy-to- understand manner. It also objectively addresses controversial topics, such as the fees that funds charge investors, disclosure requirements, advertising, active versus passive management, responsibilities of fund directors, and recent scandals, including illegal late trading and market timing.

Mutual Fund Industry Handbook concludes with a discussion of trends and conditions that can impact the industry. Whether you’re an investment professional looking to improve your mutual fund knowledge or an investor who wants to understand what goes on behind the scenes throughout the mutual fund industry, this is the resource for you.