Results of a study just released by the Securities and Exchange Commission assessing investors’ understanding of target-date retirement funds (TDFs) and advertisements related to those funds confirm that investors have a number of misconceptions about them.
The SEC announced Tuesday that it was now seeking comments on those results, and would consider the comments received before acting on a proposal the agency issued in 2010 intended to enhance the information provided to TDF investors.
Eileen Rominger, director of the SEC’s Office of Investment Management, announced last December that the SEC would be conducting “investor testing” as part of its rulemaking efforts on TDFs, to help the agency assess “the types of information that investors believe are most useful when they choose their investments.”
In 2010, the SEC proposed rule changes to address concerns regarding target-date fund names and information presented in marketing materials, Rominger said in her December speech to securities lawyers.
“After we analyze the testing data and consider public comments on the proposed rule, the division will evaluate whether to recommend that the commission adopt rule changes to address target-date funds,” she said.