Roar of Little Guy Echoes on Street as SEC Plans Disclosure Changes

The mail is piling up at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where the public comment period on proposed new rules for financial information disclosure is set to close on March 30. The invitation to comment on the new rules -- aimed at giving individual investors similar access to the information that Wall Street analysts get -- struck a mighty chord.

Arthur Levitt
SEC chairman
Photo: AP

"Bravo, Arthur Levitt!!!" cheered an email, with a tip of the hat to the SEC chairman. "It's about time that the SEC is looking out for the little guy," said another. "Congratulations for standing for truth, justice and the American way," exulted a third.

And so it goes through most of the hundreds of emails and letters sent to the SEC since the comment period began last December. The collective demand: end selective disclosures of "material" corporate information to Wall Street giving the big institutions and their clients extra insight that the public doesn't get. Most of the correspondence is from small investors who can barely contain themselves at the prospect of reform. ...