Bill describes how hundreds of people, many of them Fool readers, have written the SEC to comment on a proposed rule to level the playing field regarding company disclosure of information. In the spirit of sharing, I humbly submit the following for your consideration, my fellow Fools. Let us suppose for a moment that the following four statements, generally the basis of the comments by the SIA opposing promulgation of Regulation FD, are true in all respects. Analysts perform a necessary and valuable function in the U.S. capital markets. The alternative model of millions of individual investors and potential investors poring over prospectuses and periodic reports is highly theoretical and out of sync with the real world.
Analysts make the markets less volatile.
Analysts spend much of their time ferreting out negative information about companies. I suspect there is universal agreement on this overreaching philosophical position. I believe that is exactly what is proposed, the crux of the debate. Everyone agrees that information is the basis on which objective, critical decisions about investments should be made. If that's the case, exposure to a broader base of people with a range of knowledge and perspectives would be revealing and embarrassing.