Quantcast
The MFWire
Manage Email Alerts | Sponsorships | About MFWire | Who We Are

Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]

Rating:An Insurance Giant Settles a Mutual Fund Fee Suit Not Rated 5.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Monday, May 20, 2013

An Insurance Giant Settles a Mutual Fund Fee Suit

News summary by MFWire's editors

So, just what is a fair fee for managing a mutual fund and can economies of scale be factored in?

Of course, it's the billions dollar question for the mutual fund industry and it has been put under a microscope due to a lawsuit against funds managed by subsidiaries of Principal Financial Group, according to the Business Record.

The suit was settled out of court on May 17th, but no details have been yet released. Federal magistrate Celeste Bremer has asked for closing documents for the settlement by June 17th.

Nearly four years ago, shareholders of two Principal-managed funds filed a lawsuit in federal court here challenging the fees charged by two funds of funds operated by subsidiaries of Principal, according to the newspaper.

The Business Record reports that lawyers for shareholders Judith Curran, of Kensington, Calif., and Michael Earp, of Middletown, R.I., argue in the suit that annual fees charged by Principal’s subsidiaries are too high and out of line with fees charged by competitors. For example, the suit claims that shareholders bear the expense of attracting new investors to the funds but never receive any benefit from the economies of scale that occur.

The case was filed by the Seattle law firm of Keller Rohrback.

The newspaper reports that case has led to a great deal legal wrangling, much of which has been hidden from the public on the grounds that many of the details about how the big funds generate their fee structures are trade secrets.

Before the suit settled, it was scheduled to go to trial in June and would have involved an "advisory" jury, which, as the name suggests, would have advised the judge on how to handle the case.

Legal experts say such juries are very rare.

Read more about the case in Business Record.  

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE

5.0
 Do You Recommend This Story?



GO TO: MFWire
Return to Top
 News Archives
2025: Q3Q2Q1
2024: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2023: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2022: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2021: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2020: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2019: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2018: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2017: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2016: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2015: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2014: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2013: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2012: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2011: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2010: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2009: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2008: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2007: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2006: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2005: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2004: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2003: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2002: Q4Q3Q2Q1
 Subscribe via RSS:
Raw XML
Add to My Yahoo!
follow us in feedly


    Sorry, no records in the database matched your search parameters. Clich back and try again.



  1. Nicsa webinar - New research by Alex Edmans and the Diversity Project - The Power of diverse thinking: How the best teams make decisions, July 1
  2. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, July 9
  3. MFDF webinar - Mid-Year Tax Update for Registered Investment Companies, July 10
  4. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (Philadelphia), July 15
  5. 2025 MMI Women in Advisory Solutions Forum, Jul 15-16
  6. Nicsa webinar - How Trusted GenAI is Transforming Data Access in Asset Management, July 16
  7. MFDF webinar - M&A and Consolidation in Asset Management, July 16
  8. MFDF webinar - ETF Conversions, July 17
  9. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (New York), July 22
  10. MFDF Ask Anything webinar - AI Edition, July 24
  11. MFDF webinar - Use of Derivatives by RICs, July 29
  12. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (Columbus, Ohio), August 20
  13. Samfund Soiree Boston 2025, August 21
  14. MFDF webinar - The Audit Committee Chair's Guide to Balancing Duties and Emerging Issues, September 3
  15. ICI ETF Conference, Sep 8-10
  16. Nicsa webinar - Reimagining Reconciliation: AI, Regulation, and Capital Markets Transformation, September 10
  17. MFDF webinar - Series Trust Funds - Compliance and Board Reporting, September 10
  18. MFDF In Focus - Board Oversight of DEI in Current Landscape, September 11
  19. MFDF webinar - MFDF 15(c) White Paper Webinar Series: Part 4 – Enforcement Action Takeaways, September 16
  20. MFDF webinar - Latest in Closed-End Funds Litigations, September 23
  21. MFDF webinar - Fixed Income Insights: Navigating Market Trends & Opportunities, September 24
  22. MFDF webinar - Risk Management Essentials for RICs and Boards, September 29
  23. MFDF webinar - Diligent - Tools for Fund Board Book, October 1
  24. 10th annual Fuse Forum, October 8
  25. MFDF webinar - Essential Strategies in Board Oversight of Operational Risk Management, October 14
  26. 2025 MMI Annual Conference, Oct 15-17




©All rights reserved to InvestmentWires, Inc. 1997-2025
14 Wall Street | 20th Floor | New York, NY 10005 | P: 212-331-8968 | F: 212-331-8998
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use