Investment fund management reports clients with vital information regarding their investments in a standardized and easily accessible way. These reports provide performance data in different ways (MTD) QTD, YTD and YTD) and are usually combined with risk analysis data such as VaR and stress testing. Regulatory requirements are forcing managers to provide more detail regarding their risk management procedures than ever before.
Investors are increasingly interested in knowing what they pay for their fund investments. This is evident in the demand for more detailed data on fund fees. Some funds define management fees in a narrow way and include only the costs related to selecting securities for the portfolio in this amount. Other funds have «unified fees» that cover a wide range of expenses including administration and record-keeping services such as brokerage commissions, and 12b-1 fees.
Many funds utilize breakpoint contracts, where the management fee decreases at specific intervals of asset depending on the total assets of the fund. Investors must be aware of how much the management fee is at each interval in order to evaluate these contracts. The GAO recommends that the Commission require that funds provide fee information per share at the level of class as and disclose any fees that are paid out of the principal but not the management fee.
The GAO has also recommended that the Investment Company Act require that independent directors (directors who are not part of the management of the fund) are at a minimum the majority of a fund board. This is a way to ensure that directors who are independent are able to effectively represent the interests of fund shareholders.