Investing

INVESTING

The SEC launched an online tool that enables investors to instantly compare what 500 of the largest American companies are paying their top executives. The database highlights the power of interactive data to transform financial disclosure. The Executive Compensation Reader is available at www.sec.gov/xbrl. It uses XBRL technology and includes direct links to companies’ proxy statements, including footnotes and the companies’ explanations of their compensation decisions.

The SEC posted on its Web site a report titled Investor and Industry Perspectives on Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers. In a news release, the SEC said changes in the financial services market have contributed to a lack of boundaries between investment advisers and broker-dealers, causing the SEC to want a clear understanding of the industry’s complexities for future regulatory reform. The agency commissioned the RAND Corp. to study the state of the investment advisory and brokerage industries to determine:

The current business practices of broker-dealers and investment advisers

If investors understand the differences between and relationships among broker-dealers and investment advisers

The study found that although investors fail to distinguish between broker-dealers and investment advisers according to federal regulation definitions, they still express a high level of satisfaction with the services received from their financial service providers. The study does not evaluate the legal or regulatory environment and does not make policy recommendations. Rather, “the report will assist the Commission’s efforts to update our regulations to improve investor protections in today’s new marketplace,” SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in the release.

The entire report is available at www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/20081_randiabdreport.pdf.