Current regulations require funds to disclose returns through the latest quarter if they choose to highlight performance. May. But the SEC has warned that even ads that technically follow disclosure regulations can be fraudulent if they are misleading. SEC officials in telephone interviews said the commission already has warned several fund firms about disclosure, but did not single out the T. Rowe Price or Invesco ads. Amid calls for better and timelier data, some firms already have taken steps toward greater disclosure. Ads increasingly are diverting attention to Web sites or 800 numbers, where investors can find more recent data, SEC officials said.
Most funds protect themselves.
An ad for Fidelity Investments in the May issue of Individual Investor magazine stressed that investors could visit its Web site for more recent fund data. Ads often are submitted to publications weeks before they are published, so firms often cannot be faulted for stale data. Returns for the quarter ended March 31 were unavailable when the May ads were submitted. Still, some have been more forthcoming in using the most recent numbers available. In that case, though, it may have been in firm's best interests.