Too Much Disclosure? Debate Over Mutual Funds Misses the Point

This country certainly needs greater disclosure about what corporate executives are doing with our money.

Last week, reports revealed that former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski once spent $1 million of shareholder money on a birthday party for his wife on Sardinia. That would have been nice to know.

But in post-scandal eras, the pendulum of reform often swings too far in the opposite direction. Rigid regulation can quickly replace lax oversight. And lately, calls for the mutual fund industry to give greater disclosure are starting to go a little too far. ...