From: Beth Jones
Sent: August 10, 2006
To: rule-comments@sec.gov
Subject: File No. S7-03-04


SEC Chairman Christopher Cox

Dear SEC Chairman Cox,

As a hard-working, low-level wage earner who is heavily invested in mutual funds, I'm appalled at the reprehensible lack of ethics and fairness shown by fund CEOs & their kowtowing boards!

As you well know, mutual funds are an increasingly important savings vehicle for tens of millions of working Americans like me. We are counting on these investments (and the so-called experts managing them) to help us get by in retirement or times of need. We are the owners of these funds and we bear the risks if they are recklessly dominated by thoughtless, self-interested insiders.

Hard-working, far-sighted, thrifty Americans like myself are looking to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect us. I am therefore writing to express my strong support for the proposed rule requiring that mutual fund boards have an independent chairperson and at least 75 percent independent directors. These rules were among the most important reforms adopted by the SEC in the wake of the mutual fund trading and sales abuse scandals.

A recent study by AFSCME and The Corporate Library found mutual funds provide a rubber stamp for excessive management pay, supporting more than three-quarters of all management pay proposals. Ninety percent of institutional investors think the current system overpays executives. We need independent directors to stand up to the excesses of the money managers.

The Investment Company Act requires that mutual funds be managed in the interests of their shareholders. Requiring independent directors and chairpersons will help ensure this safeguard for the small investor, to make sure the little person gets a fair shake -- FOR ONCE!

Thank you for your time and attention concerning this matter.

Sincerely,

Beth Jones, ex-pat