Investment Company Institute (ICI): Meaning, History

What Is the Investment Company Institute (ICI)

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is the trade association for American and international investment companies, including mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange traded funds, and unit investment trusts. ICI promotes the public understanding of regulated funds, aims for funds to adhere to ethical standards, and seeks to advance the interests of funds, their shareholders, and other stakeholders.

Understanding the Investment Company Institute (ICI)

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is the trade association for regulated fund companies. Based in Washington, D.C., ICI serves U.S. funds as well as similar funds offered to investors around the world. Membership in ICI is open to investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), and unit investment trusts.

ICI’s mission includes three primary goals: to promote public understanding of mutual funds and other investment companies, to encourage adherence to high ethical industry standards, and to advance the interests of investment funds and their stakeholders.

As of 2020, ICI fund members managed $34.5 trillion in assets in the U.S., serving more than 100 million shareholders, and $8.3 trillion in other jurisdictions. The international arm, ICI Global, serves non-U.S. jurisdictions through offices in London, Hong Kong, and Washington D.C.

ICI publishes regular reports and industry updates for its members, including its annual Fact Book, which tracks the rapid year-to-year evolutions of the investment industry. Additionally, ICI provides representation for its member organizations regarding policy research, legislation, taxation, regulation changes, statistics, operations, economic analysis, and public information sharing.

History of the Investment Company Institute (ICI)

ICI was first formed during the New Deal as the agency commissioned to administer the Investment Company Act of 1940. Designed to define the responsibilities and activities of investment companies clearly, this act launched the creation of the National Committee of Investment Companies in New York. A year later, in 1941, the organization changed its name to the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC). In 1961, the organization changed its name again to the Investment Company Institute.

The organization known as the National Association of Investors Corporation is an unrelated agency.

At its inception in 1941, members included 68 mutual funds and 43 closed-end funds, and assets for the fund industry totaled $2.1 billion. In 1943, the organization instituted its first public information program and in 1958 published its first statistical summary, which would later evolve in the annual ICI Investment Company Fact Book report.

In 1959, the organization held its first general membership meeting, and in 1961 instituted its name change. That same year, ICI opened its membership to underwriters and advisors of mutual funds. In 1970, ICI moved its headquarters from New York to Washington, D.C.

Areas of Focus

The three primary program areas of ICI are public policy issues, public communications, and research. ICI promotes the interests of its members through the support of legislation and regulation. ICI represents its members in front of Congress, the SEC, and other regulators, both foreign and international, to support public policy initiatives that benefit those members.

Through its public communications program, ICI makes available to the media a wide variety of information, including news releases, background on the industry, testimonies before legislators and regulatory bodies, and speeches at conferences that cover industry opinion and regulatory proposals.

As part of its research program, ICI provides a multitude of research on the fund and retirement market, including statistical data, demographics, various trends, and fund fees and expenses.

ICI Education Foundation

The ICI Education Foundation (ICIEF) was founded in 1989 and is the educational affiliate of ICI. In partnership with government agencies and other regulatory bodies, ICIEF creates, offers, and markets investment education programs to a variety of groups. ICIEF also seeks to promote savings and investing nationwide through educational coalitions, conferences, and initiatives.