Mutual funds squeezed by competition from ETFs, pressure from distributors

Mutual fund companies are under more pressure to lower fund expenses at a time they're being squeezed by distributors for more cash, said speakers at a mutual fund conference today in Boston. Thanks to competition from low-cost investments — namely exchange-traded funds — mutual funds must keep their costs low if they expect to remain competitive, Dan Seivert, chief executive of industry consulting firm Echelon Partners, said at the conference sponsored by The Mutual Fund Wire. It's become an even more difficult task to lower fees, however, because distributors are demanding more “support” from fund producers, said M. Drew Elder, senior vice president for product strategy and development at Janus Capital Group.