Senate Plans Hearings on Fund Industry

The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday said it planned two hearings on the mutual fund industry at which lawmakers would examine fund-fee disclosure, improper trading and governance policies.

Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), the committee chairman, announced hearings for Jan. 29 and Feb. 3. Among witnesses will be Gary Gensler, former undersecretary of the Treasury for domestic finance; Ed Haldeman, president and chief executive of Putnam Investments, and Russ Kinnel, director of mutual fund analysis at Morningstar Inc.

The House passed a mutual fund reform bill in November, but the Senate has taken a slower track.

At least three bills have been introduced in the Senate to revamp industry practices. One bill, from Sens. Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, both Democrats on the banking committee, would force mutual funds to disclose all fees and to require fund executives to certify the accuracy of their funds’ financial statements.