THE CUTTING EDGE : POSTCARDS FROM CYBERSPACE : How to Get SEC Filings on the Internet (Hint: It Isn’t Easy)

If you have access to the Internet, or even if you have an e-mail account somewhere else, you can get Securities and Exchange Commission filings electronically.

Unfortunately, finding what you need isn’t easy and in some cases won’t be possible at all. Only about 1,000 major corporations make their filings electronically, and you can only get filings made in this way. (All companies are expected to file electronically within a couple of years.)

Also, all the filings are at least 24 hours old. The filings go first from the SEC to Mead Data, which is the government’s designated wholesaler of SEC filings.

The good news is that getting SEC filings via the Internet is becoming easier. Internet users lucky enough to be using the spiffy Mosaic interface can easily get what they want. And very soon others will be able to gopher to town.hall.org, the nonprofit group running the Internet project, to get filings using an easy menu system. Also available at the same place: Federal Reserve Board data.

For more information, send e-mail to mail@town.hall.org. The body of the message should consist of one word: help .