Subject: File #S7-18-96; Mutual Fund prospectuses profile.
     
     
June 7, 1996
     
Jonathan G. Katz, Secretary
Securities & Exchange Commission
450 5th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20549-6009
     
Dear Mr. Katz,
     
Last night, for the first time I learned of this matter, when I read 
Norman Fosback's article on page 10 of the May 1997 issue of "Mutual 
Fund" magazine.  I am very much in favor of simplifying the 
prospectuses.  As a relatively novice investor I am left in the dark, 
and often overwhelmed with some of the prospectuses.  Following are a 
few of my comments and/or suggestions.
     
1.  Terms and information should be standardized with all the mutual 
funds.  Simplify the key bits of information which an investor needs to 
know in order to adequately evaluate and make decisions about how/when, 
etc. to buy, sell, hold, exchange funds.
     
2.  The investor should be told "up front" and "exactly" what any and 
all costs he will incur with each fund.  There are too many "hidden" 
costs, such as back end load, redemption fee, exchange fee, etc.
     
3.  Some investors' decisions about a fund are based on the manager, who 
it is, how long he's been manager of that fund, his performance record 
with that and/or similar funds.  How, and how much, is he compensated?
     
4.  The fund buyer/holder should be notified in as much as possible when 
the manager of a fund will be changing, all about the new manager, and 
if any significant changes are anticipated that would affect the 
investor.
     
5.  The buyer should be told up front the details of selling or 
exchanging that fund for another.  Some have to be held for a minimum 
amount of time without having to pay a fee.  Are there a maximum # of 
times the buyer can exchange a fund during a period of time?  
     
Overall the present prospectuses are too long and hard to understand.
     
I wish I had know about this pending ruling earlier so I could have put 
my comments in better order.  I'm sure many other investor still haven't 
heard of this, so you won't get as many comments as you would have 
otherwise.  Maybe in the future these issues could be published in local 
newspapers; or broadcast on radio and TV staions.
     
Thanks for your efforts.
     
Sincerely,
     
Roy C. Daw
P. O. Box 671462
Chugiak, Alaska 99567
(907) 688-4353
roydaw@alaska.net