Top of the Agenda - Legal

ICI funds confab: As 36(b) cases wane, board process should stay in focus

By Hillary Jackson

Mutual funds boards should remain diligent about process even though the wave of Section 36(b) cases that targeted the industry for years has subsided, panelists said during a session Wednesday at the Investment Company Institute's 2021 Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference. "I don't think the 15(c) process ever ends," ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

T. Rowe case dismissal all but ends 36(b) litigation

By Hillary Jackson

The dismissal last week of an excessive fees case against T. Rowe Price Associates effectively ends the plaintiffs' bar's years-long campaign to prove mutual fund firms routinely overcharge their shareholders. The collecting of so-called excessive fees, as alleged in nearly 30 cases filed against fund firms between 2010 and 2018, ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

MetWest 36(b) decision affirmed by Ninth Circuit

By Hillary Jackson

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court's decision in favor of defendant Metropolitan West Asset Management, which had been accused of violating Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. In Kennis v. Metro. West Asset Magmt., LLC, filed in 2015, the plaintiff claimed MetWest ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Congressman reintroduces bill to curtail 36(b) lawsuits

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) has picked up his fight against what he calls "frivolous lawsuits" against mutual fund firms by reintroducing legislation in the 116th Congress that would make it more difficult for the plaintiffs' bar to bring excessive fees cases claiming violations of Section 36(b) of the Investment ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Plaintiffs appeal Great-West 36(b) verdict, defendant seeks $1.5m in legal fees

By Hillary Jackson

The plaintiffs in an excessive fees case against Great-West Capital Management have appealed a Colorado judge's August ruling in favor of the defendant. Obeslo v. Great-West Capital Mgmt., LLC—a manager-of-managers case in which plaintiffs alleged the adviser delegates all of its responsibilities to sub-advisers and therefore its portion of the ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Victory for Great-West in 36(b) case

By Hillary Jackson

A Colorado judge has awarded a victory to Great-West Capital Management—and, by extension, the mutual fund industry—in an excessive fees case that was filed in February 2016. Judge Christine Arguello of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ruled that plaintiffs failed to prove the defendant breached its ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<