(redirected from disclosures)


A company's release of all information pertaining to the company's business activity, regardless of how that information may influence investors.


The voluntary or required release of information relevant to a security, company, fund, or anything else. In order to be listed on an exchange, a company must provide disclosure on itself by registering with the SEC and abiding by regulations that govern what information about itself that the company releases. Disclosure exists to prevent price manipulation and anything else that would disrupt the efficiency of trade. See also: Transparency.


The submission of facts and details concerning a situation or business operation. In general, security exchanges and the SEC require firms to disclose to the investment community the facts concerning issues that will affect the firms' stock prices. Disclosure is also required when firms file for public offerings. See also full disclosure.



For example, publicly traded companies must provide all available information that might influence your decision to invest in the stocks or bonds they issue. Mutual fund companies are required to disclose the risks and costs associated with buying shares in the fund.

Government regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), self-regulating organizations, state securities regulators, and NASD require such disclosures.

Similarly, federal and local governments require lenders to explain the costs of credit, and banks to explain the costs of opening and maintaining an account.

Despite the consumer benefits, disclosure information isn't always easily accessible. It may be expressed in confusing language, printed in tiny type, or so extensive that consumers choose to ignore it.

References in periodicals archive ?
Both prime and subprime borrowers failed to understand key loan terms when viewing the current disclosures, and both benefited from improved disclosures.
Current proxy disclosures would be refined to include improved narrative disclosure on the compensation of the CEO, CFO and the three other highest paid executive officers, a change from current rules that don't specifically name the CFO.
Clearly, Treasury and the IRS are particularly concerned with advice that taxpayers intend to rely on for the purpose of avoiding penalties, but since the regulations are so broad and unclear, tax practitioners are placing the disclosure on all emails and most correspondence, even though placing disclosures on everything defeats the purpose of the covered opinion provisions.
Along with other disclosure documents, such as marketing and advertising materials and the investment advisory services contract, Form ADV creates a disclosure benchmark against which the adviser's actual conduct is compared to determine the adequacy of the disclosures.
Some state insurance departments require multipage disclosures for certain products.
Data from lenders must be submitted to the federal financial regulatory agencies no later than March 1, 2005, and will be reflected in the public disclosures scheduled to be released later in 2005.
It will also review the reality of disclosure, transparency in the Middle East and challenges facing the region for improving standards that regulate disclosures, as well as electronic disclosure, its role in raising the level of transparency in financial markets and additional disclosure requirements for finance companies and interdependence.
Entails rigorous review of disclosures by a team formally identified, properly qualified and fully empowered to perform it.
The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) notes that the broad definition of material advisor potentially sweeps into the list-maintenance and penalty regimes businesses whose contacts with a transaction are limited and whose disclosures are likely to be only marginally useful.
A facility's privacy policy must include information relating to the uses and disclosures of the individual's PHI, including a description and one example for each of the types of uses and disclosures that the facility is permitted to make for the purposes of treatment, payment, and healthcare operations; a description of each of the other purposes that the facility is permitted or required to perform without consent, such as public health, governmental health oversight, judicial and administrative proceedings, law enforcement, and work-related illness or injury; and enough detail to clarify the uses and disclosures that are permitted or required by the Privacy Rule or other applicable laws.
Insureds may want to compare these model forms with the disclosures that the insureds actually receive, to prevent the loss of rights by waiver or estoppel.