September 4, 2018
OVERALL INVESTOR EXPERIENCE
1. How do you pick funds? What information do you want to know when you make an investment in a fund? What publications or websites do you review? What tools, online or otherwise, do you use? Do you look at the SECs website?
I usually pick based on a combination of earnings and positive societal and environmental impact. I use many proprietary tools and look at many websites. Among my favorites open to the general public are ProxyDemocracy.org, AsYouSow.org, FundVotes.com, http://rankandfiled.com, http://proxymonitor.org, http://politicalaccountability.net, https://www.cii.org, https://www.sumofus.org. I look at filings on the SEC website.
2. Do you read current fund disclosure documents? Do you understand them? Is there information you do not receive from the fund that you would like to get?
The N-PX disclosures are too difficult to compile and compare. Votes should be released in a uniform spreadsheet/database format for easy comparison.
3. How well do current fund disclosures (such as a summary prospectus, prospectus, or shareholder report) help you pick an investment? Is it easy to compare different funds? Are there technology-based tools that could make fund comparisons easier? What helpful features do those tools have?
Some tools at Motley Fool, Fund Votes, Proxy Monitor. The N-PX disclosures are too difficult to compile and compare. Votes should be released in a uniform spreadsheet/database format for easy comparison.
4. Do you use the advice of a financial professional? Does a financial professional's help affect whether and how you use fund disclosures?
Sometimes. Often, they don't have any better data than I do.
DELIVERY
5. How do you prefer to receive communications about fund investments? For example, do you prefer mail delivery, email, website availability, mobile applications, or a combination?
combination of email and website availability
6. What types of fund information do you prefer to access electronically? What types of fund information do you prefer to receive in paper? Are there other wayssuch as by video or audio, you would like to receive fund information?
all electronically
7. How can the SEC better use technology and communication tools to help investors focus on important fund information?
The N-PX disclosures and proxies should be coded by uniform data field for easy comparison.
DESIGN
8. Is there too much technical writing in fund disclosure? Would you prefer more tables, charts, and graphs? Would these graphic displayes be in addition to, or in place of, text-heavy disclosures?
In addition to.
9. Do you prefer to receive shorter 'Summary' disclosures, with additional information available online or upon request?
Short summaries with ability to drill down to detail
10. Should fund disclosures be more personalized? For example, should disclosures show the amount of fees you paid or your actual investment returns? If so, how?
Yes. My current broker can't even show me moving returns on entire portfolios minus contributions and redemptions. I
CONTENT
11. Do fund disclosures make the fund's strategies and the level of risk clear? How can funds improve these disclosures? Would a risk rating, such as a numerical or graphical measure of risk, be helpful?
I would like to see graphic representations of proxy votes by proposal category
12. Fund fees and expenses can significantly affect a fund's investment returns over time. Do you think funds clearly disclose their fees and expenses? How could funds improve the disclosure of fees and expenses? Would a comparison of your funds fees against other funds fees help?
Yes, anything that uniformly compares fund fees with the fund fees of other funds would be helpful.
13. Do you consider the past performance of a fund when making an investment decision? How could we improve the presentation of performance information?
somewhat.
FINAL THOUGHTS
14. Aside from this questionnaire, are there other ways the SEC can engage with investors, like you, on key topics? Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
Allow universal proxies so I don't have to go to meetings to spit my vote. Ban virtual-only shareholder meeting and encourage hybrid, so boards can ignore the tough questions. Break up the monopoly on proxy delivery. Allow independent platforms, like the old Moxy Vote, to collect fees designed to move proxy delivery from paper to electronic.