SEC Votes to Propose Improvement of Mutual Fund Disclosure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2007-234

Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 2007 - The Commission today voted unanimously to propose rule changes that are intended to improve mutual fund disclosure. The proposed rules would require that all mutual fund investors receive a clear, concise summary of key information needed to make an informed investment decision. The rule changes would also encourage funds to harness the power of the Internet to allow investors to choose the format in which they receive more detailed information and to provide that information in a more user-friendly format than is available today. The proposed rules are intended to enable investors to use and compare mutual fund information more effectively.

"The concept behind today's proposal is disclosure that is layered in a manner that allows each mutual fund investor — and each intermediary, analyst, and other user — to quickly find and use the information that he or she needs and wants," said Andrew J. Donohue, Director of the Commission's Division of Investment Management. "The core of the proposal is a concise, plain English summary of key information about a mutual fund's investment objectives and strategies, costs, and risks, with more detailed information available both in paper and in a user-friendly online format."

The proposed rules to be published for comment include the following.

• Summary Information at the Front of the Prospectus. The proposal would amend Form N-1A, the form used by mutual funds to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and to offer securities under the Securities Act of 1933, by requiring every mutual fund to include key information in plain English in a standardized order at the front of the mutual fund statutory prospectus. Like the risk/return summary that is currently included at the front of every mutual fund prospectus, this summary would include a fund's investment objectives and strategies, risks, and costs. It also would include brief information regarding top ten portfolio holdings, investment advisers and portfolio managers, purchase and sale procedures and tax consequences, and financial intermediary compensation. The proposed amendments would require that the summary information be presented separately for each fund covered by a multiple fund prospectus. This requirement is intended to assist investors in finding important information regarding the particular fund in which they are interested.
   
• New Prospectus Delivery Option for Mutual Fund Securities. The proposed rule would permit a person to satisfy its mutual fund prospectus delivery obligations under the securities laws by sending or giving key information to investors in the form of a "summary prospectus" and providing the summary prospectus, statutory prospectus, shareholder reports, and other information on an Internet Web site in a format that enhances investors' ability to effectively use the more detailed information in those documents. In addition, the statutory prospectus and other information would be provided in paper to any investor who prefers to review more detailed information in that format. The summary prospectus would contain the same information in the same order as the required summary at the front of the statutory prospectus.

  The proposed rule would require that the Internet version of the summary prospectus and statutory prospectus be presented in a user-friendly format that permits investors, financial intermediaries, analysts, and other users to move readily back and forth between related information in the summary prospectus and the statutory prospectus. This is intended to allow investors and others to efficiently access the particular information in which they are interested. The proposed rule would also require that persons accessing the Internet information be able to permanently retain an electronic version of the summary prospectus, statutory prospectus, and other information. The proposal is intended to take advantage of technological developments and the expanded use of the Internet in order to provide investors with information that is easier to use and more readily accessible, while retaining the comprehensive quality of the information that is available to investors today.

Public comments on these proposed rule changes should be received by the Commission 90 days after their publication in the Federal Register.

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The full text of the detailed releases concerning these items will be posted to the SEC Web site as soon as possible.

Additional materials:

Video of Chairman's Statement:
 Windows Media Player (11 MB)
 QuickTime (12 MB)

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-234.htm