In a poll conducted earlier this week in the CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief, we asked readers, “Should fund managers be required to disclose their portfolio holdings on a quarterly basis?"
Poll: Should fund managers be required to disclose their portfolio holdings on a quarterly basis?
Nearly 77% of 737 global respondents think fund managers should be required to disclose their portfolio holdings on a quarterly basis, while about 23% of respondents don’t believe managers should have to reveal their positions every three months. Proponents of frequent disclosure generally argue that such transparency enables investors to better monitor each fund’s compliance with its stated investment objective. Additionally, a better understanding of their collective fund holdings likely helps investors to make more informed asset allocation decisions.
Taking the opposite view, many large investors (including Warren Buffett) argue that having to reveal positions while they are still being accumulated attracts “piggybacking” investors and risks running up the price of shares before they are finished buying, putting their own investors at a disadvantage.
There is clearly a need to balance the desire for transparency and the interests of individual investors with the strategic interests and desire for confidentiality of fund managers.
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