On December 7, the Investor
Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
adopted a recommendation that the SEC seriously explore the
development of a summary disclosure document for mutual fund
companies to use to satisfy their shareholder report delivery
requirements. Such summary documents would be relevant to many
insurance companies and their affiliates, because they would, for
example, reduce the costs of delivering mutual fund shareholder
reports to holders of variable insurance products that invest in
such funds.
The committee's
recommendation comes on the heels of the SEC's failure late
last year to adopt a rule allowing electronic delivery of periodic
shareholder reports unless the shareholder opted for paper
delivery. The SEC's inaction last year was probably influenced
by investor advocates who opposed the rule because its reliance on
implied consent to electronic delivery reduced transparency and
investor access to the reports, and
