SEC Proposes Changes in Fund Holdings Reporting

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to the form used by most registered investment companies to report portfolio-related information. The changes are designed to reduce reporting burdens without significantly affecting the SEC’s use of the data or the public’s ability to assess relevant information about a fund.

The proposed amendments to Form N-PORT follow a review (in accordance with a Presidential Memorandum) of the amendments the Commission made to the form in 2024. The proposal considers developments that have occurred after the Commission’s adoption of those amendments.

“Reducing unnecessary reporting burdens and increasing efficiency in disclosure requirements is a top priority of the Commission,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “This proposal provides registrants additional time to file the form, refines reporting items, and reduces the frequency of public reporting of fund portfolio holdings – all the while retaining insight into funds’ portfolio-related issues.”

The proposed amendments to Form N-PORT would:

• Provide reporting funds with an additional 15 days to file monthly reports of portfolio-related information on Form N-PORT, which is designed to reduce the potential for errors and resubmissions
• Reduce the publication of reports from monthly to quarterly, a change designed to protect a fund’s shareholders by reducing the risks of more frequent public disclosure, such as external parties using information about a fund’s portfolio holdings in ways that increase costs for the fund and its shareholders
• Modify Form N-PORT reports to streamline or remove certain reported information, including removing “Names Rule” reporting, and add information about funds with share classes that operate as exchange-traded funds

In connection with the proposed amendments, but by separate action, the Commission is extending the compliance dates for those Form N-PORT reporting requirements related to the “Names Rule” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which addresses certain investment company names. This extension will provide additional time for funds and the Commission to consider the proposed amendments to Form N-PORT and avoid certain costs associated with regulatory requirements that the Commission is proposing to eliminate.

The new compliance dates are Nov. 17, 2027, for fund groups with net assets of $10 billion or more and May 18, 2028, for fund groups with less than $10 billion in net assets as of the end of their most recent fiscal year.

The proposing release for Form N-PORT amendments will be published in the Federal Register, and the public comment period will remain open until 60 days after the Federal Register publication date.

Source: SEC