The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has voted unanimously to alter mutual fund disclosure rules, requiring that mutual funds provide investors with a concise, plain English prospectus summary, and reforming delivery requirements, the regulator said Wednesday.

Specifically, the commission adopted amendments to the registration form for mutual funds, to require that every mutual fund include key information at the front of its prospectus about the fund’s investment objectives and strategies, risks, and costs.

The summary will also include brief information regarding investment advisers and portfolio managers, purchase and sale procedures, tax consequences, and financial intermediary compensation. Funds will be required to provide the summary information in plain English and in a standardized order.

The commission also adopted a new rule that permits sending a summary prospectus to satisfy prospectus delivery requirements provided that the mutual fund’s summary prospectus, full prospectus, and other specified information are available online. The summary prospectus must have the same information in the same order as the summary at the front of the full prospectus.

In addition, the online materials must be in a user-friendly format that permits investors and other users to move back and forth between the summary prospectus and the statutory prospectus; investors have to be able to download and retain an electronic version of the information; and the full prospectus and other information must be provided in paper or by e-mail upon request.

“Today’s action will help mutual fund investors more easily obtain the key information they need — such as the description of the fund’s investment objectives and strategies, fees, risks, and performance,” said SEC chairman Christopher Cox, in a release. “The summary prospectus will quickly give investors a basic understanding of the fund and will permit them readily to compare one fund to another. Investors will also have access to more searchable information about mutual funds on the Internet — an important improvement in their ability to comparison shop.”

IE