(The news featured below is a selection from the news covered in the Federal Securities Report Letter, which is distributed to subscribers of the Federal Securities Law Reports.)

SEC Mandates Electronic Filing of Insider Ownership Reports

The SEC adopted rules to make the electronic filing of change of beneficial ownership reports required to be filed by officers, directors and principal security holders under Exchange Act Section 16(a) mandatory and to require Web site posting of such reports by issuers with corporate Web sites. The changes were adopted in connection with Section 403 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

According to the SEC, mandated electronic filing benefits members of the investing public and the financial community by making information contained in these filings available to them minutes after receipt by the Commission. Information concerning insiders' transactions in issuer equity securities will be publicly accessible substantially sooner and more broadly than it was before, noted the agency. The SEC also stated that the electronic format of the information facilitates research and data analysis. Finally, the SEC stated that "investors clearly want electronic access to these forms, as many investors believe that reports of directors' and executive officers' transactions in company equity securities provide useful information as to management's views of the performance or prospects of the company and that more timely and transparent access to reports will be even more useful."

The changes are effective June 30, 2003. All reporting persons must comply with the new filing requirements for reports filed on or after June 30, 2003. Issuers must comply with the Web site posting requirements as to beneficial ownership reports filed on or after June 30, 2003. In addition, under the amended rules, magnetic cartridges may not be used as a means of electronic filing after June 27, 2003.

¨ Release No. 33-8230 is reported at ¶86,918 .