A U.S. court has approved a plan that will give the NASD Investor Education Foundation control over the US$55 million set aside for investor education by federal regulators in settlements with 12 investment banks to resolve analyst conflict of interest charges.

The U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission announced that a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York has approved the commission’s revised plan to fund investor education initiatives as part of the global analyst settlement.

“We are pleased that the court has approved the transfer of the investor education funds to the NASD Investor Education Foundation to support programs that will help equip investors with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed investment decisions,” says commissioner Cynthia Glassman, at whose urging the investor education funds were included in the settlements. “We believe that the new plan will result in the efficient, cost-effective, and expeditious use of these funds for this worthy goal.”