April 8, 2004
The SEC is currently considering a rule that would make redemption fees mandatory for mutual funds. Institutional clients of fund companies often maintain omnibus positions at the funds for their underlying clients. Since banks are regulated by the Comptroller of the Currency and not the SEC, has the Commission given consideration to allowing fund companies to exempt banks from monitoring/tracking redemption fees for their client positions held in omnibus accounts at the funds? If so, wouldnt this defeat the spirit of the rule which was to discourage market timing transactions? This would be especially true since market timers concealed this kind of activity in orders settling to omnibus positions? If the rule were to exempt banks with omnibus accounts, wouldnt this create two separate classes of shareholders within the same fund those subject to fees and those who are not?
I would like to know what the Commissions thoughts are regarding this issue. I realize that issues such as this are only in the discussion stage and nothing will be final until the rule is enacted. If you could provide me with the name, e-mail address and/or phone number of someone at the SEC who is well informed regarding the issues of mandatory redemption fees, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
Andrew M Young
Delta Data Software, Inc.
ayoung@deltadatasoft.com