SEC Adopts New Fund Of Fund Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted new rules for fund of funds arrangements that will codify amendments to the Investment Company Act that the SEC has issued over the years. The new amendments permit “cash sweep arrangements,” whereby a stock or bond may use available cash to invest in a money market fund; allow greater flexibility to FoF arrangements that invests exclusively or primarily in funds in the same fund group; and gives greater flexibility to FoF that put small amounts of money in many unaffiliated funds to structure the sales load it charges. With these new amendments, funds and advisers will no longer have to file applications for exemptions for these issues. Other amendments require a registered fund that invests in another fund – even an unregistered fund such as a hedge fund – to disclose in its fee table the cumulative amount of expenses charged.