Fair Disclosure

Regulation FD (fair disclosure)

U.S. S.E.C. regulation whose purpose is to ensure that select groups of investors are not privy to firm-specific information before other investors. Executives are not allowed to reveal nonpublic information during their communications with analysts and select shareholders. If information is inadvertently released, they must take steps to broaden the dissemination of the information within 24 hours of discovering the disclosure.

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Fair Disclosure

An SEC regulation requiring that all publicly-traded companies in the United States disclose relevant, or "material," information to all shareholders at the same time. Adopted in 2000, this was a response to a common practice in the 1990s, in which large companies disclosed financial information on conference calls to certain analysts while excluding the public and even all shareholders. The regulation mandates that intentional disclosures be made publicly and that unintentional disclosures be made public within twenty-four hours. Controversial when introduced, it has increased access to information on larger firms, but some analysts suggest that it has decreased the information available and therefore increased stock volatility for smaller firms.