Financial Stability

The fund industry plays an important role in Americans’ investment and savings, managing $25.8 trillion through mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts.

Asset management is an agency business. This means that firms manage, but do not own, the assets that they invest on behalf of funds or other clients. Asset managers generally decide where and how to invest assets on behalf of their investors—but any profits or losses belong to the investors, not the manager. As regulators in the United States and around the world discuss systemic risk and consider imposing new regulations on asset managers that could ultimately be paid for by fund investors, this is an important distinction for policymakers and the public to understand.

ICI and its members remain committed to the promotion of financial stability; to sensible, deliberate, and data-driven regulation; and to advancing the public understanding of mutual funds and the key role they play in the financial system. This resource center contains the latest news, analysis, and resources from ICI and others on the regulatory developments around financial stability and the asset management industry.