News Release

ICI Statement on the EU Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP)

Dinesh Khanna — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 20:39:49 +0000

ICI Statement on the EU Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP) Dinesh Khanna April 13, 2026

Public

Tue, 04/14/2026 - 07:39

Brussels, Belgium; 14 April, 2026 - Today, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) published its position paper on the European Commission’s Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP), setting out targeted recommendations to strengthen the practical functioning of the EU’s cross‑border fund market and support the success of the Savings and Investments Union (SIU).

“The MISP can strengthen Europe’s capital markets if it reduces fragmentation and enables European savings to flow efficiently and at scale across borders through regulated funds. Addressing supervisory divergence, national gold-plating, and unnecessary complexity is essential to making the Single Market work in practice,” said Tracey Wingate, Chief Global Affairs Officer at ICI.

ICI emphasizes that while frameworks like the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) and Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) are strong, inconsistent national implementation continues to undermine the effectiveness of the fund passport, raising costs and limiting scale. The paper highlights the importance of curbing divergent supervisory practices and reducing national add-ons to improve predictability, scale, and investor outcomes.

The paper cautions against approaches that would introduce new complexity or disrupt well‑functioning structures without clear supervisory benefit. It calls for recalibrating the proposed annual review of large cross-border asset managers into a structured supervisory convergence mechanism, strengthening ESMA’s coordinating role while preserving clear national supervisory responsibility, and removing the proposed “EU group” concept to maintain a proportionate, evidence‑based approach to delegation.

“Supervisory convergence does not require centralising day‑to‑day supervision at the EU level,” Wingate continued. “What Europe needs is a credible, operational framework that delivers more consistent supervisory outcomes, grounded in evidence and cooperation, while preserving the essential role of national authorities. Getting that balance right will be critical to the MISP’s success.”

ICI looks forward to working with EU institutions and national authorities as the legislative process advances, to help ensure that the MISP delivers tangible improvements in market integration, competitiveness, and investor outcomes.

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Investing in Private Markets Becomes a Reality for Millions of American Retirement Savers

Dinesh Khanna — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:39:59 +0000

Investing in Private Markets Becomes a Reality for Millions of American Retirement Savers Dinesh Khanna March 30, 2026

Public

Mon, 03/30/2026 - 10:39

Washington, DC; March 30, 2026—Today the Investment Company Institute (ICI) released the following statement in response to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule on Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives:

“Today the DOL has taken a significant step towards realizing the vision President Trump set out in his executive order encouraging broader investor access to private market assets.

“We look forward to working with the Department to ensure that any final rule follows the key elements set forth in the proposal. This includes permitting 401(k) plan investment diversification among a broad range of asset classes while reinforcing the core principles that apply to plan fiduciaries when making any plan investment decisions. These are key ingredients to ensuring plan participants have a solid foundation for their retirement. In addition, the asset-neutral nature of the proposal is central to ensuring broader incorporation of a wide range of assets by plan fiduciaries as it confirms consistent standards for plan investments.

“More than 155 million Americans are covered by ERISA plans, and they will benefit from expanded access, such as by allowing target-date funds to add private market assets as a component of their investment portfolios. We look forward to continuing to work with the DOL on a final rule that supports innovation and maintains the robust investor protections Americans currently benefit from.”

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Department of Labor

News Release

FSOC Moves Toward More Tailored Systemic Risk Framework

Dinesh Khanna — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 23:22:28 +0000

FSOC Moves Toward More Tailored Systemic Risk Framework Dinesh Khanna March 25, 2026

Public

Wed, 03/25/2026 - 19:22

Washington, DC; March 25, 2026—The Investment Company Institute (ICI) released the following statement after the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) unanimously voted to publish its proposed interpretive guidance on nonbank financial company determinations:

“ICI applauds FSOC’s proposed interpretive guidance released today, reassessing how the Council designates nonbank financial companies as systemically important. This is a welcome and much needed step toward a more transparent and tailored regulatory framework, and we thank President Trump, Secretary Bessent, and the members of the Council for their leadership. FSOC’s proposed guidance and Senate action to pass the FSOC Improvement Act will strike the right balance of systemic risk regulation and providing opportunities for investors.

“We have long advocated for an activities-based approach to identifying and addressing potential systemic risk. FSOC’s enhanced analytical rigor, including greater use of cost-benefit analysis, along with the inclusion of a pre-designation off-ramp, is consistent with recommendations ICI has put forward for many years.”

“ICI looks forward to working alongside the members of FSOC to promote more robust cost-benefit analysis and increased engagement between companies, primary regulators, and the Council.”

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Financial Stability

News Release

Mutual Fund and ETF Fees Remained Near Historic Lows in 2025

Dinesh Khanna — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 02:41:35 +0000

Mutual Fund and ETF Fees Remained Near Historic Lows in 2025 Dinesh Khanna March 24, 2026

Public

Wed, 03/25/2026 - 10:33

Washington, DC; March 25, 2026— Average expense ratios for both actively managed and index mutual funds have decreased over the past 29 years, contributing to the overall decline in mutual fund expense ratios, a new report released today by the Investment Company Institute (ICI) shows. Similarly, average ETF expense ratios have seen a marked decline since 2017. The report, Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2025, finds that from 1996 to 2025, average expense ratios fell 62% for equity mutual funds and 57% for bond mutual funds. Over the past nine years, expense ratios for index equity and bond ETFs have declined by 33% and 50%, respectively.

“The long-term decline in fund expense ratios reflects strong competition and economies of scale across the industry, as well as investors’ increasing preference for lower-cost funds,” said Shane Worner, ICI’s Senior Director of Industry and Financial Analysis. “As assets have grown and new entrants and products have expanded the marketplace, firms have reduced costs and delivered more cost-effective investment options to investors.”

Average Expense Ratios for Both Actively Managed and Index Mutual Funds Have Fallen
Percent

Note: Expense ratios are measured as asset-weighted averages.
Sources: Investment Company Institute, Lipper, and Morningstar

Similarly, Average Expense Ratios for Both Actively Managed and Index ETFs Have Fallen
Percent

Note: Expense ratios are measured as asset-weighted averages. Data exclude ETFs not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. For additional data on ETF expense ratios, see Figures S4, S5, and S6 in the statistical appendix.
Sources: Investment Company Institute and Morningstar

Key Findings in 2025

In 2025, the average expense ratio for equity mutual funds remained unchanged at 0.40%.
The average expense ratio for bond mutual funds decreased 2 basis points to 0.36%.
In 2025, the average expense ratio for index equity ETFs remained unchanged at 0.14%.
The average expense ratio for index bond ETFs fell 1 basis point to 0.09%.
As more money market funds continued to pare back expense waivers amid relatively high short-term interest rates, the average expense ratio for money market funds increased 1 basis point to 0.24% in 2025.

Read the full report.

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Mutual Funds

Fees and Expenses

News Release

New Industry Data Standard Aims to Remove an Operational Barrier to Retail Access to Private Markets

Dinesh Khanna — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:13:36 +0000

New Industry Data Standard Aims to Remove an Operational Barrier to Retail Access to Private Markets Dinesh Khanna March 18, 2026

Public

Wed, 03/18/2026 - 09:13

Washington, DC; March 18, 2025— The Investment Company Institute (ICI) today released a proposed industry data standard designed to address the lack of communication standards and governance that support subscription processing and client onboarding for alternative investment products. This data standard will help overcome a critical operational barrier to expanding retail investor access to private markets.

Today’s retail alternative investment processes are often customized and fragmented, limiting scalability, increasing operational risk, and creating inefficiencies across asset managers, intermediaries, and service providers, with subscription processing still largely manual.

The paper, Subscription Data Framework for Retail Alternative Investments, establishes common data elements, definitions, and structures for subscription documentation, beginning with products such as business development companies (BDCs), tender offer funds, and real estate investment trusts (REITs). By standardizing how core investor and account data are defined and structured, while remaining platform agnostic, the paper is intended to support interoperability across recordkeeping, trading, and distribution systems.

“Robust data standardization is foundational to achieving scalable operations for retail alternative investments. Interoperable systems are essential to delivering improved service quality, faster processing, and lower costs for investors, while enabling firms to better manage operational risk and support broader distribution,” said ICI Chief of Industry Operations Jeff Naylor.

The ICI Retail Alternatives Working Group, comprising firms across asset management, distribution, and servicing, developed the paper. This paper builds on ICI's more than 40-year history leading industry operational standardization, including its role as the sponsoring entity behind the creation of NSCC Fund/SERV—the shared infrastructure that made mutual fund distribution at scale possible.

ICI is inviting manufacturers, distributors, and service providers involved in retail alternative investments to review the framework, evaluate potential applications within their operating environments, and engage with the Working Group as it considers next steps to promote broader adoption and interoperability across the industry. The framework is designed to evolve over time. Its straightforward, flexible format supports collaboration and consistency across diverse systems and technologies to encourage widespread adoption.

Read the full paper here.

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Alternative Investment Funds

Private Markets

News Release

SEC Clears Path for ETF Share Class Trading

Dinesh Khanna — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:56:49 +0000

SEC Clears Path for ETF Share Class Trading Dinesh Khanna March 17, 2026

Public

Tue, 03/17/2026 - 15:56

Washington, DC; March 17, 2026—Investment Company Institute (ICI) President and CEO Eric Pan issued the following statement after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted the relief necessary to allow broker-dealers and other market participants to trade ETF shares of multi-class funds.

“ICI applauds the SEC for granting the final relief needed to allow funds to launch ETF share classes alongside mutual fund share classes. In response to an ICI request, the Divisions of Trading and Markets and Corporation Finance took the necessary steps today to allow broker-dealers and other market participants to trade shares of these multi-class funds.

“This latest relief complements the relief that the Division of Investment Management provided individual funds last November to offer ETF share classes as part of mutual funds, something which Chairman Atkins cited as a priority for the agency.

“ICI thanks Chairman Atkins and Directors Selway, Moloney, and Daly for their leadership and the SEC staff for their hard work. Funds will now be able to operate more efficiently while offering investors greater choice in how they invest. Millions of investors stand to benefit from this modernized regulatory framework.”

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Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

Securities and Exchange Commission

Broker-Dealer Issues

News Release

More Employers Than Ever Are Contributing to Workers' 401(k) Plans

Dinesh Khanna — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:44:30 +0000

More Employers Than Ever Are Contributing to Workers' 401(k) Plans Dinesh Khanna March 11, 2026

Public

Wed, 03/11/2026 - 09:44

New research from ICI and ISS MI shows the big impact employers have on 401(k) plans

Washington, DC; March 12, 2026—Employers are a key driver of the success of 401(k) plans in preparing American workers for retirement, a new report from ICI and ISS Market Intelligence finds. More than 90% of large plans, generally defined as those with 100 participants or more, offer employer contributions, according to The ICI/ISS MI Defined Contribution Plan Profile: A Close Look at 401(k) Plans, 2023, and large plans offer 29 investment options, on average.

“American companies are empowering their workers to save for retirement with employer contributions, diverse investment options, and falling plan fees,” said Shelly Antoniewicz, ICI Chief Economist. “401(k) plans are crucial for private-sector workers’ retirement security, with about 70 million active participants and millions of retirees benefiting.”

Employers Make Significant Contributions to Large 401(k) Plans
Employer and employee contributions to large 401(k) plans, billions of dollars

Note: Employer and employee contributions exclude contributions from others (which includes rollovers into 401(k) plans) and noncash contributions. The results include plans that filed Form 5500 Schedule H (typically plans with 100 participants or more) and exclude 403(b) plans with a 401(k) feature. See Exhibit A.4 in the appendix for data on the full 401(k) universe.
Source: Investment Company Institute tabulations of US Department of Labor Form 5500 Research File

“The measure of total plan costs has fallen significantly in the decade-plus that we’ve been tracking it using MarketPro Retirement powered by Brightscope. Participants are saving money on plan costs and investment options. This is good news for American retirement savers,” added Brooks Herman, Managing Director, ISS MI.

Total Plan Cost by 401(k) Plan Assets
Total plan cost* as a percentage of assets among plans with audited 401(k) filings in MarketPro Retirement powered by BrightScope by plan assets

*Total plan cost is ISS MI’s measure of the total cost of operating the 401(k) plan and includes asset-based investment management fees, asset-based administrative and advice fees, and other fees (including insurance charges) from the Form 5500 and audited financial statements of ERISA-covered 401(k) plans. Total plan cost is computed only for plans with sufficiently complete information.
N/A = not available
Note: The samples are 22,469 plans with $1.9 trillion in assets in 2009, and 49,234 plans with $6.3 trillion in assets in 2023. Audited 401(k) filings generally include plans with 100 participants or more. Plans with fewer than four investment options or more than 100 investment options are excluded from audited 401(k) filings for this analysis.
Source: MarketPro Retirement powered by BrightScope and Lipper

Other findings:

Larger plans are more likely to report an automatic enrollment feature. In 2023, more than half of 401(k) plans in the sample with more than $50 million in plan assets had automatic enrollment, and more than six in 10 plans with more than $1 billion in plan assets did. Overall, 43% of large 401(k) plans reported that they automatically enrolled participants.
Employers made contributions in 91% of large 401(k) plans in 2023, up from 85% in 2007. In addition, 94% of large 401(k) plan participants were in plans with employer contributions, up slightly from 91% in 2007, reflecting the fact that larger 401(k) plans are more likely to have employer contributions.
Employer contributions represent a significant portion of contributions flowing into large 401(k) plans. In 2023, $181 billion, or 35% of employer and employee contributions into large 401(k) plans, was from employer contributions
Since 2009, total plan cost has decreased whether measured on a plan-, participant-, or asset-weighted basis. Among the large 401(k) plans analyzed, total plan cost decreased from 1.02% in 2009 to 0.74% in 2023 on a plan-weighted basis, from 0.65% to 0.48% on a participant-weighted basis, and from 0.47% to 0.30% on an asset-weighted basis.
All plan size groups saw reductions in total plan cost between 2009 and 2023, but the largest reduction tended to occur for the smallest plans.

About the Study

The ICI/ISS MI Defined Contribution Plan Profile: A Close Look at 401(k) Plans, 2023 analyzes plan-level data gathered from audited Form 5500 filings of private-sector defined contribution (DC) plans, providing unique, new insights into private-sector DC plan design. The research draws from information collected in MarketPro Retirement powered by BrightScope. The database is designed to shed light on DC plan design across many dimensions, including the number and type of investment options offered; the presence and design of employer contributions; the types of recordkeepers used by DC plans; and changes to plan design over time This study analyzes automatic enrollment, employer contributions, and participant loans outstanding in a sample of more than 53,000 large private-sector 401(k) plans—typically plans with 100 participants or more in 2023.

About ICI

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is the leading association representing the asset management industry in service of individual investors. ICI’s members include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts (UITs) in the United States, and UCITS and similar funds offered to investors in other jurisdictions. Its members manage $44.7 trillion invested in funds registered under the US Investment Company Act of 1940, serving more than 125 million investors. Members manage an

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BrightScope/ICI DC Plan Profile

New SEC Staff Guidance Provides Needed Clarity for Funds

Dinesh Khanna — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:11:47 +0000

New SEC Staff Guidance Provides Needed Clarity for Funds Dinesh Khanna March 6, 2026

Public

Fri, 03/06/2026 - 11:11

Washington, DC; March 6, 2026—The Investment Company Institute (ICI) released the following statement regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Investment Management’s newly released frequently asked questions (FAQs) on collateralized loan obligations (CLOs).

“Yesterday’s staff FAQ from the SEC’s Division of Investment Management on collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) provides a sound method for open-end funds to better incorporate bank syndicated loans and other forms of private loans in their investment strategies. This relief will allow funds that hold debt securities issued by CLOs to be included in target-date funds without artificial restrictions that funds holding similar securities, such as mortgage-backed securities, are not subject to. Leveling the playing field lets managers diversify their portfolios for the benefit of their investors free from unnecessary structural disadvantages. The FAQ is an important step towards the ‘responsible retailization’ that SEC Chairman Atkins and Director Daly seek.”

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Securities and Exchange Commission

News Release

Financial Industry Calls for Middle Class Tax Reform Now

Dinesh Khanna — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 15:20:52 +0000

Financial Industry Calls for Middle Class Tax Reform Now Dinesh Khanna March 4, 2026

Public

Wed, 03/04/2026 - 10:20

$1,340 in Mutual Fund Returns at Stake

Washington, DC; March 4, 2026—Today the Investment Company Institute (ICI) led a group of the nation’s leading financial and business trade groups and consumer advocates in calling on Congressional leadership to pass the bipartisan Generating Retirement Ownership Through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH) Act. The GROWTH Act would allow investors to defer taxation of automatically reinvested capital gains distributions until they sell their fund shares. Investors could see up to $1,340 more in returns over a ten-year period on a $10,000 equity mutual fund investment under this framework.

“Tax fairness for 40 million Americans depends on Congress passing the GROWTH Act. This is a common sense fix to the tax code that will help the middle class at a time when Americans are still facing high costs. Congress should encourage these families to keep saving and investing towards their goals. Passage of the GROWTH Act is an integral piece of their secure financial future,” said Tom Quaadman, ICI Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer.

ICI was joined in this advocacy by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Council for Capital Formation, American Securities Association, Americans for Tax Reform, Financial Services Institute, Investment Advisor Association, and SIFMA & SIFMA-AMG.

As the coalition wrote in the letter, “under current law, savers face a harmful double-effect…First, they are hit with an annual tax bill they didn’t expect; and second, that tax payment reduces the compounding of their returns over the long run, undercutting the primary benefit of investing.”

Background:

Around 40 million Americans hold $7 trillion of long-term mutual fund assets in taxable brokerage accounts.
These households are middle class, with a median income of $140,000.
An investor who made an initial $10,000 investment in an actively managed US equity mutual fund in 2015 and sold the shares in 2024 would have had up to $1,340 more in returns after paying all taxes if the GROWTH Act’s tax deferral had been in effect.
The GROWTH Act does not exempt capital gains from taxation—it simply delays the taxation until the investor sells the shares. Under the above scenario, that investor would also pay an additional $140 in capital gains taxes.
This makes the taxation of mutual funds consistent with the taxation of other assets, where most capital gains taxes are not levied until an investor sells and actually realizes the gains.

Read the letter here.

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GROWTH Act

News Release

Fund Proxy Reforms Would Save Funds and Investors Money and Time

Dinesh Khanna — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 16:22:06 +0000

Fund Proxy Reforms Would Save Funds and Investors Money and Time Dinesh Khanna March 3, 2026

Public

Tue, 03/03/2026 - 11:22

Washington, DC; March 3, 2026—New analysis of recent survey results from the Investment Company Institute (ICI) finds that the US fund proxy system is increasingly inefficient, expensive, and ineffective. The growing costs involved are imposed on fund shareholders, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should reform this system.

“Fund proxy campaigns are costing funds and their shareholders hundreds of millions of dollars unnecessarily. Smart, targeted reforms such as lowering quorum requirements while increasing the required affirmative vote to a supermajority would cut down on the time and money involved. This would reduce the expenses ultimately borne by investors and save them from a barrage of unwanted phone calls, paper packages, and emails. We encourage the SEC to move forward with investor-centric modernization of the proxy system,” said Eric Pan, ICI President and CEO.

ICI recently conducted a survey of 62 member firms representing approximately $38 trillion, or 85%, of US‑registered fund assets. The report covered fund proxy campaigns conducted between 2020 and 2025, finding that, using a conservative estimate, total campaign costs ranged from $675 million to $1.14 billion. Numerous campaigns cost tens of millions of dollars each. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of matters voted on are non‑controversial and ultimately approved by wide margins.

While reaching quorum is both difficult and expensive, voting shareholders overwhelmingly support fund‑sponsored proposals. For example, funds seeking changes to diversification status driven by increased equity market concentration saw average approval rates reach 85% of shares present. Yet many proposals still failed or required repeated adjournments of shareholder meeting dates due to quorum challenges.

As fund shareholders are largely retail investors who own their funds through intermediaries such as investment advisers or broker-dealers, it is difficult for funds to identify and communicate directly with them. Prolonged solicitations and adjournments increase costs further.

To address these problems, ICI urges the SEC to introduce reforms to modernize the fund proxy framework.

Key recommendations include:

Creating a new approval mechanism with a lower quorum of more than one-third combined with a ‘supermajority’ affirmative vote of at least 75%.
Allowing fundamental policy changes with board approval and advance shareholder notice.
Permitting fund boards to appoint more independent directors without requiring a shareholder vote.
Removing exchange‑mandated annual meeting requirements for listed closed-end funds and business development companies.
Allowing funds to adopt retail voting programs like those the SEC has allowed for operating companies.
Reforming shareholder communication and proxy processing fee rules to allow funds to contact shareholders more directly and reduce costs.
Streamlining proxy disclosure through layered, more shareholder‑friendly formats.

Click here to read the report.

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Proxy Voting

News Release

News Release

ICI Statement on the EU Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP)

Investing in Private Markets Becomes a Reality for Millions of American Retirement Savers

FSOC Moves Toward More Tailored Systemic Risk Framework

Mutual Fund and ETF Fees Remained Near Historic Lows in 2025

Average Expense Ratios for Both Actively Managed and Index Mutual Funds Have FallenPercent

Similarly, Average Expense Ratios for Both Actively Managed and Index ETFs Have FallenPercent

New Industry Data Standard Aims to Remove an Operational Barrier to Retail Access to Private Markets

SEC Clears Path for ETF Share Class Trading

More Employers Than Ever Are Contributing to Workers' 401(k) Plans

New research from ICI and ISS MI shows the big impact employers have on 401(k) plans

Employers Make Significant Contributions to Large 401(k) PlansEmployer and employee contributions to large 401(k) plans, billions of dollars

Total Plan Cost by 401(k) Plan AssetsTotal plan cost* as a percentage of assets among plans with audited 401(k) filings in MarketPro Retirement powered by BrightScope by plan assets

New SEC Staff Guidance Provides Needed Clarity for Funds

Financial Industry Calls for Middle Class Tax Reform Now

$1,340 in Mutual Fund Returns at Stake

Fund Proxy Reforms Would Save Funds and Investors Money and Time

Average Expense Ratios for Both Actively Managed and Index Mutual Funds Have Fallen
Percent

Similarly, Average Expense Ratios for Both Actively Managed and Index ETFs Have Fallen
Percent

Employers Make Significant Contributions to Large 401(k) Plans
Employer and employee contributions to large 401(k) plans, billions of dollars

Total Plan Cost by 401(k) Plan Assets
Total plan cost* as a percentage of assets among plans with audited 401(k) filings in MarketPro Retirement powered by BrightScope by plan assets