Before mutual funds, average Americans were on the outside looking in as far as the securities markets were concerned. Mutual funds changed all that, allowing middle-income America to participate in our nation's economic growth as never before. Today, over 80 million individual shareholders own mutual funds, nearly one in two households. Our industry opened the capital markets to all investors, and we have done so without scandal, without government bailouts, without betraying the trust and confidence of our shareholders. I often am asked why our industry is so successful.
Many factors play their part.
But I am convinced that the most enduring factor has been our willingness to work together to ensure that laws, regulations, and voluntary business practices protect and serve our shareholders. In the 1930s, we supported the SEC and the Congress as they worked to put in place the core protections of the Investment Company Act. Our commitment to our shareholders has continued throughout our history. Time and again, we have joined together to educate our shareholders, to broaden their investment opportunities, and to keep the Investment Company Act's successful system of regulation in step with investors' changing needs. We must continue this tradition.