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Fund
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Toward
Truth in Mutual Fund Investing Press Release October 1, 2000 For Immediate Release SEC TO RESPOND TO GROWING DEMAND FOR MORE Fund Democracy Sponsors
"The significance of this event cannot be overstated. . . . This could easily become a groundbreaking event for the mutual-fund shareholder." Vern Hayden, TheStreet.com (Oct. 4, 2000) After four months of mounting demands for more frequent disclosure of mutual fund portfolios, the nation's top fund regulator, Paul Roye, will participate in Toward Truth In Mutual Fund Investing, a symposium sponsored by fund shareholder advocate, Fund Democracy. Fund Democracy's founder and CEO, Mercer Bullard, will moderate the panel. The other panelists will be:
The Symposium will be held from 9 am to 11 am on October 12, 2000, at the University Club in Washington, DC. Seats can be reserved at www.funddemocracy.com. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and other national publications, groups representing tens of millions of the nation's 88 million mutual fund shareholders have petitioned the SEC to require funds to publish their portfolios more frequently. Fund Democracy and the Financial Planning Association, a trade association representing 30,000 financial planners, filed petitions in June. In August, ten consumer groups, including the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Consumer Action, followed suit. The AFL-CIO has announced that it also plans to file a petition. For the first time, Paul Roye, Director of the SEC's investment management division, will respond to these groups' demands for improved fund portfolio disclosure. Fund Democracy's founder and CEO, Mercer Bullard, stated, "The merits have always overwhelmingly favored more frequent disclosure. Now broad popular support will make it difficult for the industry to prevent the SEC from taking action to give investors the information they need to make informed investment decisions." The SEC already has responded to the portfolio disclosure campaign by establishing a task force to investigate window dressing and portfolio pumping, two common forms of portfolio manipulation that are facilitated by the concealment of fund portfolios that is currently permitted by SEC rules. For background information on the portfolio disclosure campaign, please visit www.funddemocracy.com, where you will find a Symposium registration form; and copies of: the rulemaking petitions; Fund Democracy's detailed supporting memorandum explaining why improved portfolio disclosure is needed; and references to recent articles discussing the portfolio disclosure campaign. For further information, please call Fund Democracy at 301-656-0044. |