MARLA'S MUSINGS

. . . from the Publisher of Brill's Mutual Funds Interactive^®

Funds Keep It Covered On The 'Net

by Marla Brill
Publisher, Brill’s Mutual Funds Interactive

Mutual funds aren’t anxious to bare it all. Even though the Internet makes it possible to notify investors of changes in fund holdings almost immediately, few web sites go beyond the SEC’s requirement to report fund holdings semiannually. That stance has drawn criticism from some consumer groups, which contend that investors have the right to know what their funds own more than twice a year.

The few exceptions include OpenFund (metamarkets.com), which posts trades, along with the rationale behind them, within minutes of execution. Stockjungle.com lists its trades on the site at the end of the day. And the Montgomery’s Stock Solutions Fund updates portfolio changes weekly.

For the most part, though, fund companies prefer to retain their traditional modesty. Fidelity discloses full portfolio information twice a year in its annual and semiannual reports, which can be downloaded from the Internet. The firm updates top ten fund holdings on its web site quarterly, and sector weightings and asset allocation information monthly. The policy, says spokeswoman Jessica Catino, “helps ensure that the proprietary research we do remains for the benefit of our shareholders. Our managers buy and sell securities over a period of weeks or months, so this kind of disclosure helps reduce the possibility of speculators affecting the price we pay or receive.”

Vanguard also discloses full portfolio information semiannually, and updates top ten holding and sector information on its web site monthly. “Most of our shareholders are long-term investors who aren’t really concerned about short-term changes,” says company spokesman John Demming. “They understand that our disclosure policy is designed to protect their interests.”