But mutual funds disclose their holdings only four times a year, and their managers often say such secrecy is necessary.
Because most mutual funds disclose their complete holdings only twice a year and with a significant time lag, he said, "I don't know what they own or how they make decisions".
He wants to prevent the sort of scandals that have afflicted Enron, WorldCom and the big banks on Wall Street.One rule that the SEC has already passed, amid much controversy, is the requirement that mutual funds disclose how they cast the proxy votes they hold on behalf of their investors.
If I sold you a mutual fund, and disclosed to you the stocks in the fund were picked by a hedge fund manager who had a short position on the fund shares, would you buy the fund?
The SEC requires that the total amount of brokerage commissions paid by a mutual fund be disclosed and expressed in aggregate dollars but often it is not translated into a percentage cost and is not included in the expense ratio.
The identity of sexual partners is TOP SECRET, unless disclosed by mutual arrangement.
In early August, the retailer named seven finalists, but identified only six; the seventh was not disclosed by "mutual agreement," Kmart said at the time.
Fidelity, which controls 15percentt of VNU through its mutual funds, said it disclosed its opposition to the acquisition after consulting with individual fund managers.
Since September, when the investigation into improper mutual fund activities was disclosed, regulators have been examining practices, including directed brokerage, that can harm investors and that have become common in the industry.
The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission SECC), Harvey Pitt, wants mutual funds to disclose their voting records and policies.
