Thomas Donahue on mutual funds
From 20120621 Federated CEO Donahue on Sponsor Support to Mutual Funds · · Enri Mariano
“The idea that you support funds and you look at any other kind of product, people are supporting their products. What are they trying to do? They're making independent voluntary marketplace analysis and judgments about what to do with a product.”
On , Thomas Donahue, Vice President, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer & Director at FEDERATED HERMES INC, spoke about mutual funds during 20120621 Federated CEO Donahue on Sponsor Support to Mutual Funds on Enri Mariano.
About Thomas Donahue
Thomas Donahue, Vice President, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer & Director at Federated Hermes, has spoken publicly about the mutual fund industry and market conditions. In a 2013 Senate hearing, Donahue defended sponsor support for money market funds, comparing it to supporting a family and arguing that such support demonstrates the "inherent resiliency of the funds." He stated that fund sponsors are "making independent voluntary marketplace analysis and judgments" and noted that firms are "100% on waiving investment advisory fees" to keep funds viable during low interest rates. Donahue also described the $2.6 trillion in money funds as "an accomplishment" despite what he called "lots of regulatory abuse." In a 2012 interview, Donahue expressed optimism about the stock market, predicting an S&P 500 level of 1,450 that year. He discussed new fund offerings, including a floating rate strategic income fund and an unconstrained bond fund, and described the challenges of running an asset management business amid volatility and regulatory uncertainty. Regarding Dodd-Frank, Donahue said the law was "not exactly fully impacting" at the time and that it was "very challenging to figure out how it will be listed." Separately, in 2011, Donahue delivered opening remarks at a conference on Cuban economic policies, criticizing the Cuban government's labor policies and quoting President Obama's statement that "Cuban authorities must take meaningful actions to respect the basic rights of the Cuban people."