Service providers tough to monitor, survey says

Sixty-four percent of mutual fund directors cited oversight of service providers — including investment advisers, fund administrators and shareholder servicing agents — as the aspect of compliance they find most difficult to monitor and assess, according to a survey by the investment management group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Nov. 12 survey of 70 mutual fund directors was taken a little more than a month after the SEC's new compliance requirements took effect. Another 15% of respondents cited securities trading and brokerage practices as their most vexing compliance issue, and 9% pointed to principal underwriter activities.