Once again, it's in the news that the SEC is going to take a look at mutual funds. The Wall Street Journal reported that "Mutual-fund fees and disclosure will get close scrutiny this year by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which also plans to finalize a longstanding plan to require mutual funds to have independent chairmen, the regulator's chairman said." The SEC will be also be discussing the much maligned 12b-1 fees, which are additional fees charged to investors to cover advertising and marketing costs.
Here's the thing: While I have no doubt that there are governance problems with many mutual funds, I don't think it's something investors need to worry about. The reason for this is that, in my opinion, the only funds investors should really bother with are low-cost index funds, which almost never charge 12b-1 fees.
The issue I would like to see the SEC tackle is financial planners/advisers putting people into mutual funds other than index funds, usually because they collect a load/commission for doing so. Is this a conflict of interest that most investors are aware of? I don't think so. To me, this is far more pressing than 12b-1 fees, which savvy investors just avoid anyway.
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