New SEC Rule Pushes More Firms to Web

Computerworld - According to a new rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), all investors have the right to know about news that could affect a company's stock price. And vendors are offering all kinds of information technology to help comply with that rule.
"Technology, particularly the Internet and wireless applications, will likely play an important role in expanding the distribution of disclosable data and information," said Bill Bradway, research director at Meridien Research Inc. in Newton, Mass.
The rule, known as Regulation FD, went into effect Oct. 23. It holds that public companies can no longer make announcements to handpicked analysts or journalists. The news must be announced by press releases or through various electronic media, said SEC spokesman John Heine.
Shareholder.com in Maynard, Mass., provides technology that enables companies to communicate with investors. Its clients include Microsoft Corp. and Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York, as well as smaller start-ups such as Stamps.com Inc. in Santa Monica, Calif.
"Regulation FD is going to increase the amount of communication to the investment community significantly," said Ron Gruner, president of Shareholder.com. "Our clients are embracing the spirit of Regulation FD, providing live webcasts, [and] making PowerPoint presentations available even today."
Although a small percentage of his clients - Gruner estimated the number at 5% - have decided to scale back their communications in response to the regulations, he said he expects that to be temporary.
Reaching Out
Chicago-based Bank One Corp., a Shareholder.com client, went live with its first webcast on Oct. 17, a few days before Regulation FD went into effect.
"It's always been Bank One's goal to reach investors as broadly as possible," said spokesman Stan Lata. Before webcasting, the bank used teleconferences. But, Lata said, with 300 to 900 people listening to each one, the teleconferences became expensive.
"Our goal with webcasting is to further broaden the audience and to offer a less expensive alternative," he said. In addition, the webcasts let the bank integrate a slide show with the audio and allow the presentation to be archived.
However, Lata added, Bank One was already using the Internet for investor communications. The bank posts earnings reports, regulatory filings and news releases on its Web site, he said.
"Fair disclosure is going to open up the marketplace," said Bill Tomeo, CEO of TellSoft Technologies Inc. in Colorado Springs. TellSoft also offers webcasting services.

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