Christopher Shays: “I rise in support of the Mutual Funds Integrity and Fee Transparency Act. Mutual funds are based on trust. Every day…”

“I rise in support of the Mutual Funds Integrity and Fee Transparency Act. Mutual funds are based on trust. Every day, America's workers hand over their hard-earned money and trust mutual fund companies to invest their savings for them. That trust has been severely damaged in recent months, and I can only hope this harm is not irreparable because mutual funds have played an important role in democratizing our stock markets. This isn't Enron. It isn't WorldCom. But it's just as bad because there are 95 million mutual fund investors in America and they're being harmed. Mutual funds are one of the best ways for workers to plan for their retirements. It allows them to diversity their investments and access the capital markets without having to become experts in individual stocks. It allows them to build wealth in a way that was once reserved for the Rockefellers and Kennedys. These investors are being defrauded by insiders who trade, in the short term, their own fund shares and trade even after the markets close. For each dollar gained through these illegal activities, every other investor in these funds loses, a result that goes against the very nature of mutual funds. The Financial Services Committee acted quickly and reported out a good bill. The legislation before us today takes important steps in highlighting the growing cost of mutual fund fees and improving the accountability and integrity of mutual fund companies.”