Many years ago I started a mutual fund. I vowed it would be a true no-load fund. That meant not only would it not have front-end or back-end loads, but it would have no 12b-1 fees and not participate in any revenue-sharing arrangements.
Oh, how naïve I was back then, for I thought revenue-sharing merely went to pay the coffers of those itinerant salesmen who hawked your fund to the huddled masses. I wasn't looking to employ traveling or even sedentary (think "boiler-room") salesmen. Instead, I and my small band of gypsies would rely on our good looks, great service and word-of-mouth to distribute our friendly fund.
Then I learned the awful truth. Investors, long sold on the myth of diversifying by buying armloads of mutual funds, demand one-stop shopping. That meant they went to a clearinghouse (i.e., usually a discount broker) to hold their cornucopia of funds. I figured all I needed to do was get a CUSIP, a ticker, and a DTCC account. Then any broker could hold our fund.
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