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The 49th Annual ICI General Membership Meeting:
Enduring Value For Investors

The 2007 General Membership Meeting (GMM), held May 9-11 in Washington, DC, brought a wide range of fund industry participants and observers together to explore the dynamics at work in the mutual fund industry. Below are summaries of a sample of the sessions and panel discussions.

GMM Chairman Murdock: This Industry Has Never Been More CriticalBrian Murdock, GMM Planning Committee Chairman and President and CEO of New York Life Investment Management, opened the 49th Annual General Membership Meeting on May 9. He discussed Americans’ increasing reliance on mutual funds to prepare for retirement, as well as the evolution of mutual fund investment strategies. View video

 

401(k) Plans the “Core” of Retirement Savings, Says Flanagan ICI Chairman Martin L. Flanagan noted that 401(k)s now hold $2.7 trillion in assets, “forming the very core of America's private-sector retirement savings,” at the GMM. He discussed the impact of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the Institute’s long support for strong, well-informed boards of governors and strengthened fund governance. View video  

 

Cox: Interactive Data for Funds, 401(k) Plans Is SEC’s Top PrioritySEC Chairman Christopher Cox delivered a keynote address at the GMM, during which he outlined the agency’s upcoming priorities. According to Cox, the SEC will be considering 401(k) disclosure reform, including overall expenses and performance of investments in the accounts, and the use of interactive data. He expects the SEC to act "very soon" on its proposal to allow mutual funds to make their data more interactive and user-friendly. View video  

 

Expert Panel Discusses Changes Underway in JournalismFred Barnes, Executive Editor of The Weekly Standard, moderated a GMM panel that focused on the impact of the Internet, blogosphere, and non-traditional media on the business of journalism. Panelists included Gordon Crovitz, Publisher of The Wall Street Journal; John Byrne, Executive Editor of BusinessWeek; and Forbes Magazine Group President and Publisher James S. Berrien.

 

Impact of New Technology on Communications the Focus of PanelNoted author and panelist Steve Cone opened a session entitled, Communications & Technology: Communicating Your Message in the Internet Age, with a presentation that focused on branding. Moderator F. Gregory Ahern, Chief Public Communications Officer for ICI, and other panelists, Dave Swanson, Principal and Founder of SwanDog Strategic Marketing, and Paul Verbinnen, President of Sard Verbinnen & Co., also discussed how the Internet Age has affected branding and advertising.