October 18, 2010
I have worked in the Financial Industry for over 30 years. Today, I am a partner in an Independant Advisory firm in Omaha, NE. I spend a lot of time with my clients and have been a big user of "C" Share Mutual Funds. I truly believe this is the best way for me to manage a clients money for the lowest net cost to them. Many of my clients don`t have sufficient assets to access the top-line money managers other than through theses retail funds they manage. I have worked very hard to build a block of business which is providing me a decent living. If the 12b-1 fees I have worked so hard to build are taken away from me, I will have no choice but to move all of these assets to a true managed account platform, which will cost my clients more money and they will recieve the exact same level of service they currently enjoy form me. I just don`t see the point of eliminating this very effective share class. "B" Shares and "C" Shares are not in themselves "evil". Used by a skilled advisor, they can serve a critical role in the portfolio design and ongoing management. Our cost of doing business continues to rise. Increased regulation, increased continuing education requirements, shrinking margins and increasing overhead all eat in to our spendable income. We can not afford to take another hit to this income and will do whatever we have to do to support our families. I think this prposed legislation is pointless. There are plenty of other areas of abuse which seem to go unchecked that could be worked on. Leave this alone. Please.
Mr. Larry Pence
V.P. & Partner
Tagge-Rutherford Financila Group, Inc.