Kemper Cited on Clarity Of Investor Statements

A company that tracks the mutual fund industry has given Kemper Financial Services high marks for the clarity of its investor statements.

Boston-based Dalbar Financial Services Inc. evaluated consolidated investor statements from 29 companies on the basis of the clarity, content, and appearance of the materials.

Kemper was cited for creating an account statement that was easy to read, covered all the required bases, and included extra information that was useful as well.

Dreyfus Corp., which is now owned by Pittsburgh-based Mellon Bank Corp., received the second-highest ratings. Invesco Funds Group, G.T. Global Financial Services, and Putnam Investments rounded out the top five.

Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual fund company, ranked just 13th despite redesigning its statements last year.

Dalbar cited the "continued use of technical jargon, which might confuse investors" as the reason for Fidelity's low rating.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER