The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved reductions in transaction and registration fees that will result in a $1 billion savings for investors. Under the Investor and Capital Markets Fee Relief Act, the SEC is required to make annual fee adjustments based on what the agency calculates to be its “target offsetting collection amount.” For fiscal year 2007, beginning Oct. 1, that means slashing the fees issuers pay to register their securities by 71.3% and transaction fees by 50.2%.

“This is terrific news for investors,” says SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. “Money that ultimately would come out of investors’ pockets can instead now go to retirement accounts, college savings plans and other investment goals.” The new fees are $30.70 per million for transactions and $15.30 per million for registration.