FYI: Last month, the New York Times ran an op-ed that suggested index funds may not be as transparent as they seem or should be, or as well-regulated. The article, written by a Securities and Exchange Commission member and a University of California - Berkeley law professor also implied that the indexes on which the funds are based could be subject to manipulation and other abuses.
I heartily endorse any sentiment that mandates more timely and detailed disclosure of index-fund holdings. However, some of the authors' claims and assumptions don't stand up to close scrutiny.
First, let's get a definitional issue out of the way. The authors wrote that “index funds typically track a broad group of stocks, like all the companies in the Dow Jones industrial average or the S.&P. 500.”
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-03-18/index-funds-sure-don-t-seem-like-libor
