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Letter from the Chief Economist
ICI Research Staff and Publications
Chapter 1: Overview of U.S.-Registered Investment Companies
- Investment Company Assets in 2012
- Americans’ Continued Reliance on Investment Companies
- Role of Investment Companies in Financial Markets
- Types of Intermediaries and Number of Investment Companies
- Investment Company Employment
Chapter 2: Recent Mutual Fund Trends
- Investor Demand for U.S. Mutual Funds
- U.S. Mutual Fund Assets
- Developments in Mutual Fund Flows
- Demand for Long-Term Mutual Funds
- Equity and Hybrid Mutual Funds
- Bond Mutual Funds
- Index Mutual Funds
- Demand for Money Market Funds
- Retail Money Market Funds
- Institutional Money Market Funds
Chapter 3: Exchange-Traded Funds
- What Is an ETF?
- Total Net Assets of ETFs
- Creation of an ETF
- ETFs and Mutual Funds
- Key Differences
- How ETFs Trade
- Demand for ETFs
- Characteristics of ETF-Owning Households
Chapter 4: Closed-End Funds
- What Is a Closed-End Fund?
- Total Net Assets of Closed-End Funds
- Number of Closed-End Funds
- Closed-End Fund Preferred Shares
- Characteristics of Households Owning Closed-End Funds
Chapter 5: Mutual Fund Expenses and Fees
- Trends in Mutual Fund Expenses
- Understanding the Decline in Fund Expense Ratios
- Understanding Differences in the Expense Ratios of Mutual Funds
- Mutual Fund Load Fees
Chapter 6: Characteristics of Mutual Fund Owners
- Individual and Household Ownership of Mutual Funds
- Mutual Fund Ownership by Age and Income
- Savings Goals of Mutual Fund Investors
- Where Investors Own Mutual Funds
- Sources of Mutual Fund Purchases
- Shareholder Sentiment, Willingness to Take Investment Risk, and Confidence
- Shareholders’ Use of the Internet
- Institutional Ownership of Mutual Funds
Chapter 7: Retirement and Education Savings
- The U.S. Retirement System
- The Retirement Resource Pyramid
- Snapshot of U.S. Retirement Market Assets
- Defined Contribution Retirement Plans
- 401(k) Participants: Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Plan Loans
- Services and Expenses in 401(k) Plans
- Individual Retirement Accounts
- IRA Investors
- IRA Investors’ IRA Portfolios
- Distributions from Traditional IRAs
- The Role of Mutual Funds in Households’ Retirement Savings
- Types of Mutual Funds Used by Retirement Plan Investors
- The Role of Mutual Funds in Households’ Education Savings
Data Tables
- Section 1: Mutual Fund Totals
- Section 2: Closed-End Funds, Exchange-Traded Funds, and Unit Investment Trusts
- Section 3: Long-Term Mutual Funds
- Section 4: Money Market Funds
- Section 5: Additional Categories of Mutual Funds
- Section 6: Institutional Investors in the Mutual Fund Industry
- Section 7: Worldwide Mutual Fund Totals
Appendix A: How U.S.-Registered Investment Companies Operate and the
Core Principles Underlying Their Regulation
- The Origins of Pooled Investing
- The Different Types of U.S. Investment Companies
- The Organization of a Mutual Fund
- Tax Features of Mutual Funds
- Core Principles Underlying the Regulation of U.S. Investment Companies