ICI Releases 2020 Fact Book
The ICI released its Investment Company Fact Book 2020 yesterday, which contains a wealth of statistics on money market (and other) mutual funds, and which reviews major fund trends of 2019. The introductory letter, from ICI President & CEO Paul Schott Stevens, states, "For almost 80 years, collecting and communicating statistics on registered investment companies have been critically important to the Investment Company Institute fulfilling its mission to promote public understanding of funds and fund investing. Our first statistical collections date back to the 1940s, and we launched our Fact Book publication -- then titled Investment Companies, a Statistical Summary -- in 1958. But the modern era of ICI Research dates back more than 25 years, when the Institute decided to expand and deepen its research capabilities and output." He explains, "When I was general counsel of ICI in the mid-1990s, ICI President Matthew P. Fink tapped me to lead the effort to build our Research Department. Adding to our statistical collection and basic surveys, we first began by conducting an annual analysis of trends in fund fees and expenses that continues to this day. In subsequent years, we've expanded our work across many dimensions -- including the breadth of our statistical collection and reporting, the reach of our longitudinal and specialized surveys, and the depth of our analysis of industry and market trends in good times and bad. We have conducted groundbreaking research into the US retirement system in which funds play an important part and empirical work on a wide variety of regulatory and other policy issues. And with the launch of ICI Global in 2011, our research entered a whole new phase to serve a global membership and mission." Stevens adds, "All those years ago, we understood that ICI's reputation would stand or fall on the accuracy, integrity, relevance, and timeliness of our research and analysis. Our commitment to these values has been the foundation of all our research activities since. It is therefore a source of some satisfaction that ICI today is regarded as an important source for understanding our industry.... This 2020 Investment Company Fact Book -- the 60th edition -- is just one example of the critically important work produced by ICI Research. After eight decades of data collection and six decades of the Fact Book resource, ICI Research will continue to carry on this great tradition. And I will always take tremendous pleasure and pride in having helped to lay that foundation for the benefit of funds and investors for decades to come." Watch for more excerpts from the new ICI Fact Book in coming days, and in our latest Money Fund Intelligence, which also has an interview with ICI's Paul Stevens.
