8/17/2004: SEC May Bar Rewards to Brokers (The Washington Post; subscription may be required)

Excerpt: The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to vote tomorrow to bar mutual fund companies from steering their stock and bond business to brokerage firms that promote the fund companies' products. The practice, known as directed brokerage, has come under fire as an area rife with potential conflicts of interest after scrutiny of the $7.6 trillion mutual fund industry intensified last year.