Mutual fund firm agrees to $600 million settlement

NEW YORK -- Alliance Capital Management agreed Thursday to a $600 million settlement, including a 20 percent reduction in its fund fees for the next five years, to resolve federal and state accusations it permitted improper trading of its mutual funds.

An agreement jointly negotiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer calls for the company to pay $250 million in restitution and take new steps to improve its corporate governance and prevent trading abuses. The payment is the largest ever by a mutual fund adviser, the SEC said. Separately, Spitzer's settlement also requires Alliance to reduce its fees by 20 percent.