The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is a global association of regulated funds, including

mutual fund A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV ...

s, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds and

unit investment trust In U.S. financial law, a unit investment trust (UIT) is an investment product offering a fixed (unmanaged) portfolio of securities having a definite life. Unlike open-end and closed-end investment companies, a UIT has no board of directors. A ...

s in the United States, and similar funds offered to investors in jurisdictions worldwide. ICI encourages adherence to

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

standards, promotes public

financial literacy Financial literacy is the possession of the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions with all of their financial resources. Raising interest in personal finance is now a focus of state-run progr ...

of funds and investing, and advances the interests of investment funds and their shareholders, directors, and advisers.

History

Following the

stock market crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

that presaged the Great Depression,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

passed a series of acts related to

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

and financial regulation. One of these, the Investment Company Act of 1940, clearly defined the responsibilities of investment companies. This same year, what would become ICI was established in New York as the National Committee of Investment Companies, an organization to aid in the administration of the act. It became the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) in 1941, and then the Investment Company Institute in 1961.

ICI Global

In 2011, ICI expanded internationally with the launch of the London-based ICI Global, which seeks to advance the interests of international funds, managers and investors, including both regulated U.S. and non-U.S. based funds publicly offered to investors worldwide. In 2013, ICI Global expanded into Asian markets with the opening of an office in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, and in 2020, ICI opened an office in Brussels.

Role in regulation and education

As an association made up of U.S. investment companies, including mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and unit investment trusts (UITs), ICI encourages adherence to ethical standards among its members. It advocates for meaningful disclosure for investors from funds and provides investor education. It also provides data and commentary to the SEC to advise its regulatory process, and submits official comment letters and briefs in response to proposals around new financial regulations as well as legal decisions. ICI's research department includes economists and research analysts who collect and disseminate data on all types of registered investment companies; in 2020 they released more than 300 statistical reports examining various aspects of the industry, as well as 20 research and policy publications. In addition, ICI aims to promote the interests of directors, stockholders and investment counselors as well as the investment funds themselves. The organization has two continuing professional education programs, including a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program for Certified Public Accountants and a

Continuing Legal Education Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys t ...

(CLE) program for attorneys.

Political role

ICI lobbies on behalf of investment companies, and sometimes advocates directly to the public on issues important to its members. It also donates to federal candidates through its political action committee. ICI PAC raised $1,676,728, plus $947,200 more, directly for federal candidates during the 2020 election cycle, supporting the reelection of 222 lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Membership

ICI membership is open to Securities and Exchange Commission-registered investment companies (mutual funds, closed-end funds, ETFs, and UITs), their investment advisers, and underwriters, as well as investment managers sponsoring regulated funds offered to investors in jurisdictions worldwide. As of September 2020, ICI membership included 8,669

s, 5426 closed-end funds, 1,775 exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and 3,262

s (UITs) in the United States, and 17,524 non-US funds. As of January 2022, ICI's members manage total assets of US$32.3 trillion in the United States, serving more than 100 million US shareholders, and US$9.6 trillion in assets in other jurisdictions.

Leadership

ICI is run by a

board of governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

, responsible for setting policies and overseeing the activities of the organization. The organization's staff is based in its offices in Washington, DC, London, Hong Kong, and Brussels.

References

External links

Investment Company Institute website

Investment Company Institute
at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...

{{Authority control Trade associations based in the United States