Top of the Agenda - Legal

First Eagle sub-adviser fee comparison 36(b) case dismissed

By Hillary Jackson

An excessive fees case filed against First Eagle Investment Management more than three years ago was dismissed this week with prejudice, with no settlement involved. Kennis Trust v. First Eagle Investment Management LLC is the first of its kind among the current round of cases alleging violations of Section 36(b) of the ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Early, peculiar 36(b) case dismissed on appeal

By Hillary Jackson

One of the earliest in the current wave of lawsuits targeting mutual fund fees came to an end in late July when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower court's dismissal of the case. The appeals court's ruling is being viewed as a win for ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Third Avenue litigation comes to an end

By Hillary Jackson

Litigation related to the collapse of Third Avenue Management's Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund has come to an end, just 18 months after the fund was closed in December 2015. Two suits have been settled with plaintiffs and a third has been dismissed. The fund's independent directors were named defendants ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

ICI's Blass to join Simpson Thacher

By Hillary Jackson

Investment Company Institute General Counsel David Blass will leave to join Simpson Thacher & Barlettt LLP's Investment Funds Practice in June. Blass has been the ICI's top legal officer since mid-2014 and also has worked in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Trading and Markets and Investment Management divisions, as well ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

New 36(b) case targets JPMorgan

By Hillary Jackson

JPMorgan Investment Management is the defendant in the first new excessive fees lawsuit to be filed in the eight months since Sivolella v. AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. was decided. In the suit, plaintiffs accuse JPMorgan of charging higher investment advisory fees to its own shareholders than it does to those ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Judge upholds attorney-client privilege in Calamos case

By Hillary Jackson

An Illinois judge on Tuesday denied a request from plaintiffs in an excessive fees case against Calamos Advisors that would have granted the plaintiffs access to privileged fund board material withheld during discovery. Judge Mary Rowland said plaintiffs "failed to demonstrate the necessity of the information and its unavailability from ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<