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Anybody know when the 2022 (December ‘22) Annual Report for DODBX will be available?
I find it one of the better, more thorough looks at the markets overall plus a good glimpse into D&C’s approach. Most years a 6-month old semi-annual report (June ‘22) would suffice. But so many shifts in both bonds and equities since June, would really like to get a look at their end of 2022 report - actually for all their funds but especially DODBX.
Just tried PRWCX (although no longer own it). Same deal - nothing yet available beyond their June semi-annual report. Feeling confusedbefuddled err … “rudderless” concerning market direction, relative valuations, etc.
Worse (or better, depending on your perspective), funds will be phasing in the annual report equivalent of summary prospectuses. Streamlined info (covering only an individual share class) will be distributed, and as with statutory prospectuses you'll have to go looking for complete (semi)annual reports.
Worse (or better, depending on your perspective), funds will be phasing in the annual report equivalent of summary prospectuses. Streamlined info (covering only an individual share class) will be distributed, and as with statutory prospectuses you'll have to go looking for complete (semi)annual reports.
Jaaaaaysus. This is the dumbing down of investors, indeed. Forcing curious, or detail-oriented investors to go onto a fund's website (or the SEC) to look for basic comparative information is insane.
I like the American Funds and held many of them them for years, but I totally suspect Capital Group, with its like 20 share classes per fund probably is behind the "fund documents to only report on a single share class" initiative. Why let individuals easily see that there are likely cheaper fund classes available and that the annual expenses DO play a major role in performance?
Your cynicism is not unjustified, though the process of introducing streamlined reports was a bit more neutral than that.
From the SEC proposal:
We request comment on the proposed scope of disclosure for the annual report, including the following: ...
4. A fund may have multiple share classes with differing fee structures. Should these multi-class funds be permitted to reflect only one or a subset of classes, rather than all share classes in a shareholder report so long as a fund produces a shareholder report that relates to each share class? Would such an approach reduce the complexity of the disclosure and provide more-tailored information that is specific to a shareholder’s investment in the fund? Or, conversely, would such a requirement not benefit shareholders? For example, could it reduce shareholders’ ability to compare classes of a fund? Should there be limits on the number or types of classes that a single annual report may cover to reduce potential complexity or length? For example, should we prohibit an annual report transmitted to retail shareholders from including disclosure related to a fund’s institutional class? Are there potential complexities or burdens associated with such an approach? Please explain.
Seeing [multiple share class] information could, for example, cause the investor to question why they are invested in shares that carry higher costs or suffer poorer performance relative to other available share classes. ... We are therefore at least preliminarily opposed to the idea ...of permitting funds to reflect only a subset of share classes in a shareholder report. Despite our initial skepticism, we believe this approach is worth testing to see whether it results in a better investor experience. If testing demonstrates that limiting the number of share classes reported on in a single report offers benefits that outweigh the potential downsides, the Commission should proceed accordingly. However, ...
All I can find in Capital Research and Management's comments regarding the streamlined reports is that it is generally supportive of adopting them:
We support the Commission proposing a rule that creates a new streamlined shareholder report with key information and provides funds with an alternative way to keep shareholders informed instead of delivering annual prospectus updates to existing shareholders. We believe this approach furthers the Commission’s goal to address the concern that shareholder report and prospectus disclosures may appear redundant or inconsistent to shareholders, as well as the belief that prospectus disclosures in particular may often be less relevant to the informational needs of a shareholder who is simply monitoring his or her fund investments. However...
Comments
Just tried PRWCX (although no longer own it). Same deal - nothing yet available beyond their June semi-annual report. Feeling
confusedbefuddlederr … “rudderless” concerning market direction, relative valuations, etc.https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/33-8393.htm
Worse (or better, depending on your perspective), funds will be phasing in the annual report equivalent of summary prospectuses. Streamlined info (covering only an individual share class) will be distributed, and as with statutory prospectuses you'll have to go looking for complete (semi)annual reports.
https://www.sec.gov/investment/tailored-shareholder-reports-mutual-funds-etfs
I like the American Funds and held many of them them for years, but I totally suspect Capital Group, with its like 20 share classes per fund probably is behind the "fund documents to only report on a single share class" initiative. Why let individuals easily see that there are likely cheaper fund classes available and that the annual expenses DO play a major role in performance?
Fund companies must be ecstatic!
From the SEC proposal: https://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/2020/33-10814.pdf
The comments received by the SEC can be found here:
https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-09-20/s70920.htm
Few comments addressed the streamlined reports, as the bulk of the proposal deals with changes to the "full" reports. One comment worth noting is from Barbara Roper (at the time, the director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America). https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-09-20/s70920-8204376-227513.pdf
All I can find in Capital Research and Management's comments regarding the streamlined reports is that it is generally supportive of adopting them: https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-09-20/s70920-8204356-227509.pdf