The Wall Street Journal reports that the SEC plans to abandon its proposal that would have made electronic delivery the default method of providing fund shareholder reports to investors. According to the story, the American Forest and Paper Association and the Envelope Manufacturers Association mobilized their jointly funded Consumers for Paper Options to fight the “rush to digitize.” In addition, the group got Congress involved to threaten legislation to block the rule. The opposition comes despite research showing that SEC research shows that a majority of investors prefer to view documents on a fund’s website; 43% of shareholders currently opt for electronic delivery; and the fact that investors would continue to have an option to receive documents in paper. According to the article, “[i]n the end, big paper scissored big mutual funds.”
