FSI Says 12b-1 Rule Change Will Confuse Investors, Be Ineffective

However, the advisors said they would oppose the “detailed confirmation disclosures” in the proposal, worried that the proposed new rule’s cap on ongoing sales charges would “reduce investors’ access to competent service and support,” and that moving “low net worth” clients from C-shares to investment advisory accounts would result in “higher costs for the investor.”

FSI says the conclusions to be drawn from their survey of advisor members is that those advisors would support “common sense improvements” to the disclosure of mutual fund distribution fees, but that the SEC’s proposal on making confirms more detailed would “confuse investors or prove ineffective.”

In its letter, the FSI argues that 12b-1 fees are at least partially responsible for the growth of the mutual fund industry and investors’ participation in mutual funds, and asks the SEC to “substantiate its recommendations” before changing the current mutual fund distribution fee “structure,” particiarly in light of the Commission’s “ongoing standard of care owed to investors” BDs and their reps.