August 7, 2015
Proposed Rule 303-3 would impede access for many investors, especially the elderly, those with disabilities, and minority Americansall demographics that are less likely to have regular Internet access. For example, 41 percent of Americans over 65 years of age do not use the Internet yet (Pew Research Center, 2014). According to the Investment Company Fact Book, 34 percent of this population owns mutual funds.
Not to mention the cyber security issues with all of this data being housed in a digital format, on-line. The incidences of mail fraud as related to sensitive data transmission is far less than that of cyber crimes and affect far fewer people. I, for one, would not participate if on-line is required. Hard copy production should be the automatic default with a digital opt in option only.