BOSTON, January 8, 2001- While dozens of books have been written to tell investors how to select mutual funds for their investment portfolios, very few address the aspect of how a fund company actually works. A Purely American Invention: The U.S. Open-End Mutual Fund Industry does just that. The book-an "everything you've ever wanted or needed to know" compendium-satisfies the needs of everyone seeking knowledge on how mutual funds work, be they general readers, business students or industry employees.
General readers of A Purely American Invention-perhaps mutual fund investors-will understand the structure of a mutual fund: its shareholders, board or directors, investment adviser, management company, distributor, transfer agent, custodian and independent public accountant.
Business students will learn the history of the mutual fund industry and the laws that govern it. They'll find out what fund companies do and what their management functions are-like the investment management "front office," where analysis is performed, and where portfolios and trade orders are managed. And, the "back office," where trade operations, compliance and risk management, accounting and data management take place.
Mutual fund industry employees who know only a limited subset of the industry's functions will discover both the breadth of fund operations and the context in which they are performed. They'll learn about the opportunities and challenges of e-business in fund distribution, customer service and mutual fund manufacturing.
What further sets this book apart from others is its impartial discussion of the issues and challenges facing the industry-the debate over fees and expenses, active vs. passive management, and the state of the market.
In the books foreword, Vanguard Group founder John Bogle calls A Purely American Invention "a remarkably important work." The industry pioneer continues, "I am profoundly impressed by the broad and comprehensive sweep of information and knowledge this book makes available. But Im even more impressed by the fairness and even-handedness it brings to its discussions of many controversial issues that face the industry today."
Author Lee Gremillion, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers Investment Management and Securities Operations Consulting practice, provides operations and systems expertise to many U.S. mutual funds, insurance companies, investment managers, pension administrators and banks. He earned a doctoral degree from the Harvard Business School and was a professor of Management Information Systems at Indiana University and Boston University. Dr. Gremillion also worked for IBM and The Colonial Group.
A Purely American Invention, published and distributed by the National Investment Company Service Association, can be purchased by calling 781-416-7200.
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