Lawmaker Links Fund Scandals, Chairmen

Most mutual fund families implicated in recent scandals had chairmen affiliated with the funds’ management companies during the time when trading abuses occurred, a top U.S. lawmaker said Thursday.

Calling on regulators to order funds to have independent chairmen, Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio) said his research showed that 85% of fund families involved in the scandals had management-affiliated chairmen.

“One way to reduce the kind of self-dealing that hurts shareholders is to require independent chairmen,” Oxley, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement.

Oxley said he was urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt a proposal that would force mutual funds to elect chairmen with no ties to their fund management companies.