In 2016, the SEC began what it calls a multiphase effort to redesign Edgar. In a contract solicitation the agency put out that year, it said the repository had become “overly complex, expensive to operate and more difficult to efficiently evolve.”
The SEC also noted that over the past eight to 10 years “the number of filings made on Edgar has tripled, submission size has more than doubled and total data received has quadrupled.” The agency added that it used contractors to manage much of Edgar, including to “operate and monitor the system and maintain the hardware and software.” The redesign is ongoing.
The SEC has drawn criticism from lawmakers for not closely vetting announcements made through Edgar. For instance, in May 2015, Nedko Nedev -- a dual citizen of Bulgaria and the U.S. -- issued a filing indicating that he was making an offer to buy Avon Products Inc. The cosmetics company’s shares jumped 20 percent before trading was halted.
Buyer Beware
The agency argues that the sheer volume of daily announcements would make it impossible to review everything, so it holds companies and individuals responsible for the accuracy of postings. Submitting false information can expose culprits to SEC civil penalties, and even criminal prosecution.
Edgar also drew scrutiny in 2014 when academics found some traders could get access to public filing data before it appeared on the SEC’s website. The researchers said that in some instances, investors who subscribed to feeds sold by an SEC contractor saw certain filings 10 seconds earlier.
Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP redistributes SEC filings. It competes with other news organizations in reporting details in filings.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.