keynote address this morning to almost 450 peole gathered for Bermuda's most important mutual funds conference of the year.

Edward C. (Ned) Johnson III, chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments, will open the 8th Annual Globalisation of Mutual Funds Seminar at the Southampton Princess Hotel.

Fidelity is the largest mutual fund group in the world. Its subsidiary, Fidelity International, has its headquarters in Bermuda.

Some 400 of the attendees flew in this weekend for the conference, which is designed to be an in-depth study of current legal and business issues in the mutual fund field.

KPMG Peat Marwick mutual funds partner, Greg Haycock, said that it is one of the most important mutual fund conferences of the year because of the international nature of the delegates.

"It is unique in that it brings together US and UK service providers, and those from many other countries, more so than any other conference I've been to,'' Mr. Haycock said. "Frequently you see such conferences in the US with mostly Americans attending or in the UK with predominantly British delegates.

"As a result this conference tends to deal with international issues more than other seminars would. If they are in the US or the UK, such conferences tend to deal with domestic issues. So this conference in Bermuda has become very popular.'' The seminar includes a discussion on recent tax developments, including the US Treasury Departmen's proposal to simplify the application of the stock and securities trading safe harbour, by eliminating the principal office requirement.

A Treasury official will be present for the discussion to explain the rationale behind the Treasury's position.

The conference is presented by the Business Law section of the International Bar Association and by the Investment Company Institute, the US association of the investment company industry.

Organising committee member Peter Rodger, senior vice president and group legal adviser at the Bank of Butterfield, said: "At 440 people, comprising fund managers, lawyers and accountants, the conference is fully subscribed. We could have accommodated more, but delegates in past years have said they did not wish it to be any larger.'' There are 257 from the US, 39 from Bermuda, 30 from England, 27 from Dublin, 13 from Luxembourg, 11 from the Channel Islands, 21 from Canada, ten from Germany and a number of other delegations.

Some of the other issues that will be discussed include mutual cooperation and international regulation, marketing on the Internet and entry to foreign markets. There will dialogue on Guaranteed Funds, with an increasing interest in such funds.

A panel of regulators from key jurisdictions will also be present to provide insights on issues affecting cross-border money management, including disclosure, enforcement and compliance activity, and the need for laws and regulations to keep pace with technological changes and the increasing importance of mutual funds in retirement savings.

BUSINESS BUC