From: Deborah Moore [deborahxmoore@earthlink.net] Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 12:51 PM To: rule-comments@sec.gov Subject: Re: File Numbers S7-36-02 and S7-38-02 Re: File Numbers S7-36-02 and S7-38-02 Mr. Jonathan G. Katz, Secretary Securities and Exchange Commission 450 Fifth Street NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609 Dear Secretary Katz: As an individual investor, I am writing to support the Security and Exchange Commission's recently proposed rules regarding proxy voting guidelines and vote disclosure by mutual funds and investment advisers, File Numbers S7-36-02 and S7-38-02. With almost all my investments managed by mutual funds -- some Merrill Lynch funds, some Fidelity, and some Calvert -- I would greatly benefit from having the information of how the institutions managing my money are voting proxies on my behalf. This information would enable me to choose a mutual fund manager that is voting proxies in line with my values on a range of issues of importance to me, from corporate governance to social and environmental issues. To empower individual investors, I urge the SEC to require that disclosure of proxy votes and voting guidelines be directly disclosed on mutual fund and investment advisers' web sites, in addition to the SEC's web site. I believe print copies should be made available to those investors that do not have access to the web, or for small companies covered by the rule that do not have a website. Additionally, I would like to see more specific guidance from the SEC on what should be covered in a proxy voting policy or set of guidelines. Hundreds of resolutions are filed by shareholders each year, on a range of issues, and voting policies should be broad enough to reflect the diversity of concerns coming to a vote. I am concerned about current potential conflicts of interest that may influence my money managers to vote proxies in ways that do not reflect the interests of individual shareholders. I believe full disclosure of proxy voting (which some socially responsible investment funds already do) is an easy but critical step in protecting the interests of individual shareholders and addressing some of the corporate scandals of the past year. If the information is conveyed primarily on mutual funds' websites, the cost of disclosing this information is practically zero. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed rules. Sincerely, Deborah Moore 1706 Sonoma Ave Berkeley, CA 94707 --- Deborah Moore --- deborahxmoore@earthlink.net