General Membership Meeting Sessions Explore Fund Disclosure and Savings Issues

Washington, DC, May 18, 2006 - The Institute’s 48th annual General Membership Meeting (GMM) featured a pair of sessions focusing on issues important to the investing public: the challenge of providing effective mutual fund disclosure and ways to help encourage retirement saving.

Challenging the Conventional Thinking About Mutual Fund Disclosure

A panel of communications professionals and experienced mutual fund executives examined the challenges of improving the format and delivery of mutual fund disclosure documents. The Institute released research examining investor preferences for receiving information on mutual funds. The research indicates that investors focus on information related to fund fees, historical performance, and risk; it also finds that recent fund investors make little use of prospectuses or shareholder reports.

• Understanding Investor Preferences for Mutual Fund Information (pdf), Summary of Research Findings
• Use of the Internet by Mutual Fund Shareholders (pdf), Slide presentation of Bill Doyle, Vice President, Forrester Research

• Mutual Fund Buyers Focus on Fees, Performance, Risk (html)

Encouraging Savings: Helping Workers Save

A panel of retirement plan experts and research professionals explored what 25 years’ experience with participant-directed defined contribution plans has taught us about how to help Americans save for retirement.

• Slide Presentation (pdf) of Warren Cormier, President, President and Founder, Boston Research Group, Inc.
• Slide Presentation (pdf) of James Cornell, Senior Vice President, FIRSCo Plan Sponsor Strategy, Fidelity Investments
• Slide Presentation (pdf) of Tom Johnson, Senior Vice President, MassMutual Financial Group
• Slide Presentation (pdf) of Barbara A. Kelly, Vice President, Human Resources Division, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
• Slide Presentation (pdf) of Barry Schub, Executive Vice President, NYLIM Retirement Plan Services, New York Life Investment Management

Related Links

Other 2006 GMM material available online includes:

• Remarks of John V. Murphy, General Membership Meeting Chairman
• Remarks of Paul Schott Stevens, President, Investment Company Institute