marketing of mutual funds.

A show-down over information technology is brewing between two long-time allies, Britain and the US. The latest battlefield will be right here in Bermuda, this spring.

Some 30,000 people, lawyers and other investment industry specialists, have been invited to Bermuda to attend the "Ninth Annual Seminar: Globalisation of Mutual Funds'' at the Southampton Princess Hotel during the first week of May.

In recent years, the event has been sold out, attracting its capacity of more than 400 delegates. This year is expected to be no exception, with key issues on the table for discussion.

With such an extensive invitation list, there is no wonder why it is the most successful seminar of the International Bar Association (IBA).

But this year will include the conflicting positions taken by authorities in the US and the UK over the use of the Internet for the marketing of mutual funds.

Senior vice chairman of the IBA's mutual funds committee, Peter J.M. Rodger, who is also senior vice president and group legal advisor of the Bank of Butterfield, is a founder of the conference and one of the principal organisers.

He said, "A popular panel is an update on marketing funds through the Internet, chaired by Michael Mann, former head of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington DC. The head of the UK's FSA enforcement is presenting the UK position, which is opposite to the US.

"The US is taking the very reasonable position that fund details cannot be prohibited from the Internet, as along as actual sales are not made in any jurisdiction which forbids them.

"The UK position fails to reflect the reality of the Worldwide Web, by insisting that no details of offshore funds should be placed on the Internet if anyone in the UK might be able to see the details.

"This is clearly unrealistic and we look forward to a very interesting debate between the present US and UK positions.'' The keynote speaker is Barry P. Barbash, the director of the division of investment management for the SEC.

Bermuda Stock Exchange CEO, William Woods, will draw on his experience as a former consultant in Hong Kong when he participates on a panel discussion concerning central depositories in emerging markets.

Another attraction is the discussion on the operational and legal impact of the European Union, with the head of the French investment funds industry, Alain Leclair, chairing the panel. Mr. Leclair, of Paribas Asset Management, is chairman of AFG-ASFFI in Paris.

Mr. Rodger noted: "France is the largest mutual fund market in the European Union. It may be worth mentioning that the impact of the Euro will not only be felt within Europe itself, but by all businesses -- international and domestic -- in Bermuda which have any contracts denominated in one of the currencies of the member countries of the EU.

"Accordingly, this is something not only of interest to the Bermuda banks, but to the Bermuda insurance and investment industries.'' An interesting discussion is anticipated from a panel on emerging markets in Africa, Russia and Indonesia, especially in light of the problems experienced by Asian markets.

The seminar is presented by the investment companies and mutual funds committee of the IBA section on business law, in conjunction with the Investment Company Institute (ICI).

ICI is the national association of the investment company industry in the US, with a membership of 6,718 open-end mutual funds, 442 closed-end investment companies and ten sponsors of unit investment trusts.

Mutual fund members have assets of some $4.265 trillion, accounting for about 95 percent of total industry assets, and have over 59 million individual shareholders.

The IBA is the world's foremost international organisation of lawyers with over 18,000 members in 183 countries and 174 member bar associations and law societies, representing 2.5 million lawyers.

The section on business law has 13,000 members and is the largest of the IBA's three sections.

PETER RODGER -- Founder of conference.

BUSINESS BUC