SEC Releases Reg FD Impact Report
Rule working, modifications suggested
SEC Commissioner Laura Unger, in one of her last acts before stepping down as a Commissioner at the end of the year, yesterday issued a report examining the impact of Regulation FD on the marketplace. Special Study: Regulation Fair Disclosure Revisited (Dec. 2001).
Commissioner Unger was the only Commissioner to vote against the adoption of Regulation FD. Commissioner Unger’s report does not argue for the repeal of Regulation FD, instead agreeing with Chairman Pitt’s statement that “The goal of Regulation FD is unassailable.” It concludes that there are contradictory views as to whether the regulation has resulted in more or less public information, but that it has in any case resulted in a more level playing field.
The report recommends that the SEC should consider issuing an interpretive release to make its position on materiality under Regulation FD clearer, and that the SEC should make it easier for issuers to use technological alternatives to press releases to satisfy Regulation FD.
It also calls for the SEC to conduct a more detailed analysis of issuers’ disclosures since the adoption of the regulation.
The SEC’s press release, with a link to the report, is available online at http://www.sec.gov/news/headlines/regfdunger.htm
Copyright 2001, John M. Baker, Esq., Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young, LLP, 1220 19th Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 – (202) 822-9611- Fax (202) 822-0140 This article was originally posted to the FundLaw List, http://www.egroups.com/group/fundlaw. To subscribe to FundLaw, send a blank e-mail to fundlaw-subscribe@egroups.com
Nothing herein is intended as legal or financial advice. The law is different in different jurisdictions, and the facts of a particular matter can change the application of the law. Please consult an attorney or your financial advisor before acting upon the information contained in this article.
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Mark Astarita is a nationally recognized securities attorney, who represents investors, financial professionals and firms in securities litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters, including SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement proceedings.
He is a partner in the national securities law firm Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC, and the founder of The Securities Law Home Page - SECLaw.com, which was one of the first legal topic sites on the Internet. It went online in 1995 and is updated daily with news, commentary and securities law related links.
