Ben Bernanke chimed in on money fund reform, saying it was moving in the right direction, the Wall Street Journal reported. The plan would require the riskiest funds leave behind their fixed $1 share price and float the NAVs. The Fed has supported this idea before — Bernanke said the SEC’s idea for new regulations is similar to the idea of the Financial Stability Oversight Council from last year.

He did not say anything about the alternative proposals from the mutual fund industry, which would require money funds to impose withdrawal fees and enable them to temporarily halt redemptions during market panic.

The Investment Company Institute, meanwhile, stayed the course in it's disagreement with floating NAVs, according to Bloomberg.

The SEC exempted funds that buy only U.S. government-backed securities and retail funds in an effort to compromise with the fund industry.

The compromise was approved by SEC commissioners on June 5 but ICI preferred an alternative option that would limit withdrawals when funds endure stress.

"Our opposition to the floating NAV is as strong as ever," ICI president Paul Schott Stevens stated in the text of a speech sent to Bloomberg.

Check out the WSJ story here and the Bloomberg story here. 

Edited by: Casey Quinlan


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