DTCC slices mutual fund, insurance fees

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. has reduced fees for its mutual fund and insurance services. Fund/SERV and Networking, the firm’s two highest volume services for the mutual fund industry, have reported fee decreases of $18.4 million. Both services are provided by the National Securities Clearing Corp., a DTCC subsidiary. As of Jan. 2, the cost of a Fund/SERV transaction was cut to 7.5 cents, a decrease from the previous 11 cent fee. Meanwhile, the networking fee fell to 10 cents for every 100 records processed, down from 15 cents. The fee reductions follow an increase in volume during 2007: Fund/SERV had processed 170 million transactions worth $2.5 trillion, beating its 2006 record by 19%. Also, yesterday, the DTCC announced the largest cut in fees for its Insurances Services business unit. Customers will save $6 million this year, representing largest fee reduction in the group’s 10-year history. This reduction eliminates all file fees associated with insurance products, which were $15 per file. Customers will now only have pay transaction costs.