Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 regulates the ability of mutual funds to use their own assets to pay for the distribution of their shares. The rule is controversial, on the one hand, because 12b-1 fees, as they are called, can be seen as a benefit to...

Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act gives the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) broad powers to establish wide-ranging rules to regulate the standard of conduct of broker-dealers in relationship to retail customers.

While mutual funds are currently the dominant form of investment for the retail investor who is looking for diversification, ETFs and customized portfolios of various kinds are growing faster.

Chairman Cox continued some of his predecessor's troubled initiatives, pursued some good ones of his own,but missed several opportunities.