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SEC & Edgar Project: Internet Access
- To: vicepresident@whitehouse.gov
- Subject: SEC & Edgar Project: Internet Access
- From: Randolph Ross <reross@tribeca.ios.com>
- Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 17:12:19 -0400
- Cc: carl@radio.com
FROM: Randolph E. Ross 111 Hicks Street - 4A Brooklyn Heights, New York 11201
TO: Vice President Albert Gore The White House
Dear Mr. Vice President:
I am writing regarding The Edgar Project and in support of Mr. Carl Malamud's letter (8/4/95,cc:you) to SEC Chairman Mr. Arthur Levitt. Mr. Malamud is president of The Internet Multicasting Service.
The closing portion of the letter addresses the nub of the issue: a fervent advocacy that the SEC itself assumes a proactive responsibility for diligent maintenance and expansion of the Internet test-based system of disseminating corporations' public information on file. Edgar, under current auspices, will terminate 10/1/95.
I wholeheartedly share your enthusiasm for technology and the productivity it fosters. The SEC's cost of "picking up the ball" here is minimal, and would prove a solid "investment" of tax dollars in a manner that helps to "democratize" the financial markets through truly timely public access to public information.
My support of Mr. Malamud's specific position rests on an empirical tripod:
1) The conventional, direct process of extracting information from the SEC is extremely time consuming and cryptic. Try telephoning and you get voice-mail menus, often electronically bouncing you back to where you started. If you experience the good fortune of actually contacting the appropriate individual, you still must wait two weeks and pay substantial copy charges. A visit to your regional SEC library yields nothing if the focus of your interest is domiciled outside of that branch's territory.
2) The status-quo alternative in the private sector (Bloomberg, S&P Compustat, etc.) is a) prohibitively expensive, even for many small and mid-sized firms and b) must source the SEC for the information anyway, so substantial delays exist between when a company files the information and when the SEC makes it available through this private pipeline.
3) The Internet, contrary to some criticism, represents a long-term cutting-edge proposition with an expanding, *BROAD* base of users. Check the statistics, demographic and otherwise. New users are signing-on everyday. A majority of users are in the work force. The substantial number of college-age users is a leading indicator of future activity. These individuals will be conducting much of the entry-level, primary research that (within a couple of years) will provide value-added information to their employers.
If you want additional economic evidence to buttress point "3," study the vote of investor dollars and Netscape's recent initial public offering. (Netscape is navigating software for the Internet.) The offer was vastly over-subscribed at a price almost twice that of the preliminary range of projection. You are probably aware of the stock's action in the aftermarket. This is not the invested wealth of 20-year-olds who hack and surf for pleasure.
The SEC's embrace and expansion of Edgar thus would improve government efficiency, pragmatically broaden the audience of informed investment decision-makers (thus benefitting all by allocating capital flows to where the highest returns exist), and serve a rapidly expanding universe of fluent Internet users.
I can think of worse ways to spend my hard-earned tax dollars, and am writing to *you* because of your *elected* status, in contrast to that of the once-removed, appointed variety.
My concern stems from the SEC's original lack of enthusiasm (even opposition) to what Edgar has come to be. Now that public pressure seems to be mounting to support the spirit of Edgar, Mr. Levitt seems to be espousing some interest. (I must, however, point to two very different interpretations of his remarks: The New York Times [8/16] described him as merely open-minded, while Investors Business Daily's carrying of a Bloomberg release [8/16] conveyed a greater sense of committment on his part.) A continual vigilance and unabated advocacy will prevent the need for financial-market Internet access from falling through the cracks of political and personal agendas.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. I urge you to exercise your demonstrated leadership in addressing this issue.
Respectfully,
________________________ Randolph E. Ross <reross@tribeca.ios.com>
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