News & Events

Corporate Partner Rajib Chanda was quoted in Ignites, a Financial Times news service, with regard to efforts in the mutual fund industry to strip broker-dealer commissions from share classes and allow intermediaries to determine their own commission rates, in response to the DOL Fiduciary Rule. Rajib explained that industry exemptions from Section 22(d) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, which requires fund manufacturers to set and control the sales loads that are charged by share classes, can be achieved through SEC involvement, such as a no-action letter that would apply broadly to fund sponsors or intermediaries. Without SEC action, firms may have to file numerous share classes, each tailored to a specific distributor. “Time is more of the essence than it would appear,” said Rajib. “[T]hese regulatory filings have to be on file in February to go effective in April” and meet the April 10, 2017 compliance deadline.