FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      98-22


          SEC TO CONSIDER TWO ITEMS AT AN OPEN MEETING


     Washington, D.C., March 9, 1998 -- The Securities and Exchange
Commission will consider two items at an open meeting conducted
under the Government in the Sunshine Act on March 10, at 10:00 a.m. 
The meeting will be held in Room 1C30, at the Commission's
headquarters building, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 
The items for discussion are
     

     -    whether to adopt amendments to Form N-1A.  Form N-1A is
          used by mutual funds to register under the Investment
          Company Act of 1940 and offer their shares under the
          Securities Act of 1933.  The amendments are intended to
          improve fund prospectus disclosure and to promote more
          effective communication of information about funds to
          investors.  The amendments would focus prospectus
          disclosure on essential information about a particular
          fund that would assist investors in deciding whether to
          invest in that fund.  The amendments would also  minimize
          prospectus disclosure about technical, legal, and
          operational matters that generally are common to all
          funds.  
     
     -    whether to adopt Rule 498 under the Securities Act of 
          1933.  The new rule would permit a mutual fund to offer
          investors a new disclosure document called a "profile".
          The profile would summarize key information about the
          fund, including the fund's investment strategies, risks,
          performance, and fees, in a concise, standardized format. 
          The profile would offer investors the option of
          purchasing the fund's shares after reviewing the
          information in the profile or after requesting and
          reviewing the fund's prospectus (and other information). 
          An investor deciding to purchase fund shares based on the
          information in a profile would receive the fund's
          prospectus with the confirmation of purchase.

     -    whether to propose a new registration form, Form N-6, for
          insurance company separate accounts registered as unit
          investment trusts that offer variable life insurance
          policies.  The form would be used by these separate
          accounts to register under the Investment Company Act of
          1940 and to offer their securities under the Securities
          Act of 1933.  Form N-6 would focus prospectus disclosure
          on essential information that would assist an investor in
          deciding whether to invest in a particular variable life
          insurance policy. The proposed form would also minimize
          prospectus disclosure about technical and legal matters,
          improve disclosure of fees and charges, and streamline
          the registration process by replacing two forms that were
          not specifically designed for variable life insurance
          policies with a single form tailored to these products.
     


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should contact Rochelle Franks, Office of Administrative and
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