Group to Press SEC on Fund Data Disclosure

A financial planning group on Wednesday demanded that the Securities and Exchange Commission require mutual funds to improve disclosure of their portfolios’ holdings to shareholders.

In a rarely used strategy, the Financial Planning Assn. “petitioned” the SEC to require all funds to report holdings more often.

Present SEC rules require funds to report all of their holdings--each stock or bond in the fund, the number of shares, and their value--to shareholders twice a year.

“This means financial planners’ mutual fund recommendations could be based on information that is as much as eight months old,” said the petition, signed by Duane Thompson, the group’s director of government relations.

The group also wants all specialized funds to boost the percentage of assets in their specialty area. Current SEC rules require funds with sector specific names--such as “utility” funds--to invest at least 65% of assets in that type of security.

The association, whose 29,000 members generally work for firms employing one to four advisors, petitioned the SEC to increase the 65% threshold to a more “meaningful percentage.” It didn’t specify a number.