Mutual Fund Industry in United States - Porter's Five Forces Strategy Analysis

The US mutual fund industry consists of open-ended investment companies that are registered with the SEC under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The combined assets of the US' mutual funds increased by $329.1 billion, or three percent, to $11.396 trillion in May 2007, according to the Investment Company Institute's official survey of the mutual fund industry.

Aruvian Research analyzes The Mutual Fund Industry in United States in Michael Porter's Five Forces Analysis. It uses concepts developed in Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Porter referred to these forces as the microenvironment, to contrast it with the more general term macro-environment. They consist of those forces close to a company that affect its ability to serve its customers and make a profit. A change in any of the forces normally requires a company to re-assess the marketplace.