From: Barbara Mihopulos
Sent: August 10, 2006
To: rule-comments@sec.gov
Subject: File No. S7-03-04


SEC Chairman Christopher Cox

Dear SEC Chairman Cox,

Mutual funds are an increasingly important savings vehicle for tens of millions of working Americans like me. We are the owners of these funds and we bear the risks if they are dominated by self-interested insiders. We look to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect us. I am writing TO EXPRESS MY STRONG SUPPORT for the proposed rule requiring that mutual fund boards have an independent chairperson and at least 75 percent independent directors. These rules were among the most important reforms adopted by the SEC in the wake of the mutual fund trading and sales abuse scandals.

I know over the last 5 years it has come to light the length and breath of corruption in the high stakes corporate world. Most Americans are looking for a system that allows them to retire in a home rather than under a bridge, or on a park bench. PLEASE Chairman Cox,the money mongers can still have their pieces of silver without taking it out of the mouths of hard working Americans like myself. We need the Investment Company Act, as a safety measure with independent directors & chairpersons.

A recent study by AFSCME and The Corporate Library found mutual funds provide a rubber stamp for excessive management pay, supporting more than three-quarters of all management pay proposals. Ninety percent of institutional investors think the current system overpays executives. We need independent directors to stand up to the excesses of the money managers.

Thank you, Mr. Cox.

Sincerely,

Barbara Mihopulos