The Securities & Exchange Commission is looking for investor input on its new ideas for improving mutual fund disclosures.
According to the SEC, the purpose of the new proposals is to provide investors "with concise information about mutual funds that is easier to use than the mutual fund prospectuses available today." The proposal includes a requirement of a summary section in every prospectus that would include investment objectives, costs, principal investment strategies, risks and performance, top ten portfolio holdings, a list of investment advisers and portfolio managers, brief purchase, sale, and tax information, and information about broker compensation and conflicts.
A model prospectus summary on the SEC website is a great improvement over the current system which requires investors to leaf through mountains of boilerplate to find key information about their funds.
According to an article in the latest issue of SmartMoney (not available online), the industry is supportive of the measure as it will save it about $182 million in printing and mailing costs! But the industry is resistant to further suggestions that the new model for prospectuses should also include additional comparative data on fees and performance. It's a shame that the industry is opposed to giving investors more information; good funds would probably want to provide investors with this kind of data.
But the streamlined prospectus is a great improvement and hopefully it will come to fruition soon. Only about 10% of investors read prospectuses before investing in funds, and that number ought to be 100%.
Last updated: February 10, 2012: 03:47 PM
Hot Stocks
DailyFinance Headlines
- 4 Money-Etiquette Questions Answered
- Walmart's New Health Food Push: Is It Too Hard to Swallow?
- Newlyweds, Don't Let the IRS Spoil Your Honeymoon
- Bonds Are a 'Safe' Investment: A Big Lie Gets Even Bigger
- Why Groupon Will Never Be Great Again
Benzinga Headlines
- Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Drops
- Don't Bank on Barclays
- GSV Capital Punished for Expanding Facebook Investment
- Chesapeake Gently Lets Go of Gas
- How to Profit off Addicts
TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines
- Cobalt price target raised to $42 from $26 at Citigroup
- Callon Petroleum
- Market set to end week lower as Greek default fears resurface
- JetBlue reports January traffic results
- HomeStreet 1.2M share IPO priced at $44.00
BioHealth Investor Headlines
- Can Human Genome Really Double Its Stock Price? (HGSI)
- Alimera Implosion Analysis, What Is Next (ALIM, PSDV)
- Implosion Analysis For Targacept… What Lies Ahead? (TRGT, AZN)
- Rare Analyst Calls With Huge Upside in Vical and VIVUS (VICL, VVUS, BMY)
- Top Biotechs With Upside Ahead of Earnings (GILD, AMLN, ARIA, INCY, JAZZ, DNDN, HGSI, ILMN, AMGN, CELG, BIIB, BMRN, LIFE, REGN, AMLN, CBST, ONXX, THRX, VPHM)
WalletPop Headlines
- 4 Money-Etiquette Questions Answered
- Walmart's New Health Food Push: Is It Too Hard to Swallow?
- Newlyweds, Don't Let the IRS Spoil Your Honeymoon
- Bonds Are a 'Safe' Investment: A Big Lie Gets Even Bigger
- Why Groupon Will Never Be Great Again
My Portfolios
Track your stocks here!
Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.
BloggingStocks Partners
More from AOL Money & Finance
- Business News
- Stock Screener
- Stock Quotes
- Stock Charts
- Banking
- Identity Theft
- DJIA
- Debt Management
- Loans
- Auto Loan
- Mortgages
- Taxes
- Retirement
- Insurance
- Small Business
- Earnings
- Tech News
- Tax Forms
- Tax Deductions
- Tax Credit
- Tax Audit
- Tax Advice
- Stock Ticker
- Stock Brokers
- Resume Builder
- Pig Flu
- Online Tax Filing
- Madoff
- Investing For Retirement
- Income Tax
- Historical Stock Prices
- GOOG
- ETF Investing
- Deals
- DailyFinance
- Crude Oil Prices
- Credit Score Calculator
- Common Tax Filing Mistakes
- AMT
BioHealth Investor Headlines
- Can Human Genome Really Double Its Stock Price? (HGSI)
- Alimera Implosion Analysis, What Is Next (ALIM, PSDV)
- Implosion Analysis For Targacept… What Lies Ahead? (TRGT, AZN)
- Rare Analyst Calls With Huge Upside in Vical and VIVUS (VICL, VVUS, BMY)
- Top Biotechs With Upside Ahead of Earnings (GILD, AMLN, ARIA, INCY, JAZZ, DNDN, HGSI, ILMN, AMGN, CELG, BIIB, BMRN, LIFE, REGN, AMLN, CBST, ONXX, THRX, VPHM)
Savings Experiment: Snow Removal
The Money Man Behind Rick Santorum: Who Is Foster S. Friess?

