SEC Wants to Keep Short Prospectuses for Busy Investors
Published Date: 10/2/2026
Notice
Summary
The SEC is asking to keep Rule 498, which lets investment funds send a short, easy-to-read summary to investors instead of a long, complicated prospectus. This helps investors get key info quickly and lets funds share full details online for free. About 11,700 funds use this rule, and the SEC wants to extend approval without adding new costs or delays.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Estimated Compliance Cost per Fund
The SEC estimates each fund using Rule 498 spends about 1.5 hours per year (0.5 hours compiling the Summary Prospectus and 1 hour for website posting) and incurs an annual cost burden of about $23,380 per fund. Across an estimated 11,699 funds, the Commission estimates a total annual cost burden of about $273,522,620.
Short Summary Prospectuses for Investors
If you invest in open-end mutual funds, Rule 498 lets funds give you a short Summary Prospectus with key information instead of the long statutory prospectus. Funds relying on Rule 498 must also post the full statutory prospectus, the statement of additional information, and the most recent annual and semi-annual reports free on a website. The Commission estimates about 11,699 funds are using a Summary Prospectus.
Statutory Prospectus Must Be Sent Upon Request
If a fund sends you a Summary Prospectus under Rule 498, the fund must send the full statutory prospectus to you if you request it. That requirement is mandatory for funds that elect to use a Summary Prospectus under the rule.
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