With the recent publication of its final rule, the federal government's Financial Stability Oversight Council is now in position to designate certain nonbank firms as "systemically important financial institutions" (SIFIs). There is probably no aspect of the Dodd-Frank Act that will have more damaging effects on competition in the U.S. financial system.

According to recent press reports, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering releasing a controversial proposal to impose additional capital and liquidity regulations on the $2.7 trillion money market fund industry (MMMFs) and to replace the fixed $1 net-asset value ("par value") rule now used by all MMMFs to redeem customer funds with a mark-to-market (NAV) requirement. 

The financial crisis has highlighted the institutional features of our financial system and regulatory policies that unexpectedly resulted in financial instability.

The Committee believes that the federal safety net that was extended to money market mutual funds could be removed by marking their portfolios to market on a daily basis.

U.S. mutual funds, which now hold over $12 trillion in assets, are one of the most successful investment vehicles ever developed. Begun in the Roaring Twenties, they survived the Depression, tough regulatory regimes, and a less-than-favorable tax system and came into their own in the 1950s. Critics argue that the...

At a recent ExxonMobil annual meeting, members of the Rockefeller family made news by backing a shareholder proposal to change company policy in an effort to alleviate global warming. The resulting media attention raised questions about the proper role of institutional investors in voting on political or social issues brought...