Mandatory Disclosure Documents Telephone Survey (2008)

In 2008, the SEC commissioned a survey to evaluate "plain English" rules approved in 1998 with the goal of making mandated disclosures simpler, clearer and more useuful. Abt SBRI conducted the telephone survey on a national sample of 1000 adults who invested in stocks, bonds and/or mutual funds outside an employer-sponsored reitrement plan. The survey found that many investors do not read disclosure documents and those who do, spend relatively little time on them. Overall satisfaction was mixed. Key issues reported included excessive jargon, confusion over the information content and intent of disclosures,poor investment literacy and a demand for web-based delivery. It was not possible to determine whether disclosure had improved due to the lack of baseline data