On November 19, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously approved the creation of a type of summary of investment fund prospectuses. The document will carry the main necessary information for an investor’s investment decision. Among them are the objectives, strategies, risks and costs of the fund, as well as information about the managers and taxation.

The SEC will also start to accept the abridged prospectus, provided the complete version and other information about the fund are provided on the Internet, in easy-to-handle versions that can be saved. These same documents must be available as hard copies, if an investor requests it.

“Many investors find prospectuses morose, confusing and very legalistic. This new kind of disclosure will make the data more accessible, without a loss of quality”, said Andrew J. Donohue, director of the SEC’s investment management division. To Christopher Cox, Chairman of the SEC, the new measures will give investors a chance to research and make comparisons among funds via the Internet. The changes come into effect on February 28, and the deadline for funds to adapt them will be the end of 2009. In Brazil, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) is working on a similar project to simplify investment fund prospectuses.