SEC Staff Cuts Are Penny-Wise but Pound-Foolish
Imagine you're in charge of the federal budget. In 2000, investors poured $388 billion into mutual funds and the number of Americans owning mutual fund shares swelled from 82 million to 88 million. Over the past two years, the Securities and Exchange Commission has lost 30% of its professional staff to private industry, and the federal government is running a huge surplus.
Do you (1) increase or (2) reduce the number of SEC mutual fund examiners? If you answered No. 2, you and Dubya think alike.
President Bush proposes to cut 57 SEC staffers, with 13 coming from the ranks of mutual fund examiners. With the SEC currently inspecting funds only once every five years, these staff cuts are reason to celebrate if you're a fund manager who makes money by playing fast and loose with your shareholders' money.
The Unexamined Fund
...Recent Comments
| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,309.92 | 1,091.49 | 2,138.44 | 32.31 |
Oil *
77.12
|
|
DOWN
154.48
|
DOWN
19.14
|
DOWN
37.61
|
DOWN
0.48
|
10 Yr
3.23%
SPDR Gold
115.06
|
|
-1.48%
|
-1.72%
|
-1.73%
|
-1.46%
|
Data delayed 20 minutes |
Connect with TheStreet