On the hopeful side for investors is that some funds are loosening up by releasing lists of top holdings on Web sites, often monthly, or giving regular portfolio updates to Morningstar , the fund monitor. Also emerging is a small group of entrepreneurial funds with even looser policies. One, OpenFund , lets investors view active trading on its Web site, while Montgomery Asset Management is taking steps such as posting weekly trading commentaries by the managers of its new line of Stock Solutions funds. Because funds sometimes take weeks to build positions in a stock, they argue, giving the public timely portfolio updates would tip off the market to their intentions. While acknowledging the front-running peril, critics say funds could release complete holdings more frequently than six months, or even quarterly, and still protect themselves.
Funds are still a black box to a lot of people.
Objections to more frequent disclosure aren't confined to the mutual fund world. Some investment advisers also think it's a poor idea. What's more, they say, the advantages are overblown. That's what they pay me for. I personally don't think much about it.