The relationship between open-end investment companies and their investment advisers with special emphasis on management fee rates

Abstract

There has been a tremendous growth in the open-end investment company industry in current years. Its total net assets currently approximate $30 billion, and its activities account for nearly six percent of the overall trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The management of the companies that constitute this industry is therefore a subject which should be of considerable interest to the three million people who are shareholders in these companies. This subject is investigated by concentrating on four primary areas of interest: (1) management and supervision of the investment company portfolio by the investment company adviser, (2) the relationship of investment company size to the management fee paid the investment adviser, (3) the relationship of investment company size to the operating expenses of the company (exclusive of management fees) and, (4) the relationship of investment company performance to the management fee paid the investment adviser. Correlation analyses are performed to determine these relationships, utilizing data from current prospectuses and annual reports of representative samples of the companies now in existence. These samples are selected through statistical techniques, and conclusions drawn on the basis of these analyses. The investment company shareholder's recent realization of the inequities in management fee rates, which were discovered by this study , are noted. The changes in the open-end investment company industry which are now being called for by the public are discussed.