ICI Viewpoints Content

Data is central to the work we do in ICI Research. We collect it from our members, download it from government websites, and purchase it from third-party vendors. We clean it, analyze it, and tabulate it. And then, we put it into research reports, blog posts, regulatory comment...

Overview One of the most enduring questions in finance is the puzzle of why closed-end funds (CEFs) trade at a discount to their net asset values (NAV). Despite nearly 60 years of academic research, [1] the issue remains unsettled. [2] The issue is at the center of a current policy...

As Tax Day nears, ICI’s recently released research report on individual retirement accounts (IRAs) highlights their growth as tax-advantaged retirement savings vehicles. Introduced 50 years ago when the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was signed into law in September...

Acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda gives the keynote remarks on the first day of ICI’s Investment Management Conference. Photo credit: Adam Auel. The 2025 Investment Management Conference (IMC) concluded in San Diego on March 19 after three days of insightful discussions and industry...

Employer plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are an important source of income for all but the lowest-income retirees. Either directly or through a spouse, more than 70 percent of Americans over age 70 receive income from retirement plans. That share increases rapidly with...

Recent comparisons between the fees of US mutual funds and European UCITS funds rightfully acknowledge key structural differences between the two markets but don’t change the reality that the asset-weighted average cost of US mutual funds is significantly lower than that of UCITS...

VIEW AS PDF In late November 2024, the Bank of England published the results of its first system-wide exploratory scenario (SWES) exercise—a year-long effort to model how various financial entities, including non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFIs) and banks, would respond to a...

Teachers, nurses, and millions of other public education and nonprofit workers are being denied the full range of retirement investment options that the private sector enjoys. In some cases, the exclusion can cost these workers in higher fees over time, lessening their ability to...

ICI President & CEO Eric J. Pan and Allspring Global Investments President Kate Burke in conversation at day one of 2025 ICI Innovate. At ICI’s second annual Innovate conference, artificial intelligence (AI), new technologies, and digital assets dominated the panel sessions...

VIEW AS PDF In response to pandemic-induced stress in money markets three years earlier, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rule amendments in July 2023 that required significant changes to prime money market funds (MMFs). 1 While strengthening the resiliency of MMFs...