CFTC Said to Consider Private Vote on Registering Mutual Funds
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may vote in private to require mutual funds to abide by new marketing and registration rules when they use derivatives tied to commodities, according to three people briefed on the matter.
The agency has circulated the regulation, opposed by Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group Inc., for a final vote by the agency’s five commissioners, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter isn’t public. Commissioners can vote on paper without holding a public meeting in a process known as seriatim.
The vote could be completed in a matter of days by circulating the document for signatures, according to the people. Commissioners could also decide to hold a public vote.
The rule would rescind exemptions from CFTC registration for mutual funds that use derivatives tied to commodities. The National Futures Association, the Chicago-based self-regulatory organization, sought the change last year to improve protection of retail investors.
The Investment Company Institute, the Washington-based trade association for mutual funds, opposed the change in a letter last year and said the firms are already subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and don’t need a second regulator.
“The CFTC has provided little rationale for its sweeping proposal, including why it is necessary to impose a second, costly layer of regulation on registered investment companies,” Karrie McMillan, general counsel of the institute, said in a letter to the CFTC last year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Silla Brush in Washington at sbrush@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net
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