Hiltzik: Trump Wants to Let Companies Make Fewer Disclosures, Thus Keeping Investors in the Dark

This being the "information age," it would be understandable if investors sometimes feel inundated with too much information to wade through about the stocks in their mutual fund portfolios. The Securities and Exchange Commission, bowing like a puppy to the urgings of Pres

This being the “information age,” it would be understandable if investors sometimes feel inundated with too much information to wade through about the stocks in their mutual fund portfolios.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, bowing like a puppy to the urgings of President Trump, is considering exactly the wrong solution to this supposed burden

It’s proposing to allow public companies to give their investors less information, as though that’s a good thing. On May 8, the SEC proposed rescinding its mandate that public companies report financial results on a quarterly schedule. Instead, it suggests, semiannual and annual reports should suffice.

This takes an already-unlevel playing field where Main Street investors are already disadvantaged, and makes it more unlevel. Dennis Kelleher, Better Markets The SEC left its proposal open for public comment for 60 days, meaning the window closed Monday. By then, the agency had received more than 68,000 comments, according to a tracker posted online by accounting professor Tzachi Zach of Ohio State.

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