Built to comply

Challenge
When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced plain language rules for mutual fund prospectuses, it created a new set of challenges for Nations Bank, which had just merged with Bank of America to create the largest bank in the US.

The mutual funds division of Nations Bank recognized the enormity of the task of converting their prospectuses to comply with the SEC’s new rules, and the value of bringing in plain language expertise to get the job done right. An RFP narrowed their choices down to four companies. SimpleLogic won the business based on our skills and experience.

Solution
We simplified 31 fund prospectuses for 60 funds and 11 share classes using the new disclosure rules – a huge job involving complex project management, strict adherence to new regulatory requirements, detailed language simplification and minute attention to detail.

In addition to maintaining the master files and managing all conforming changes, we 
developed a design prototype showing our recommendations for hierarchy, typography, explanatory notes and the treatment of tables and graphs for the prospectuses. Although the final design was not in scope for this project, we were able to influence Nations Funds’ decisions and improve the quality and usability of these important documents from the perspective of layout as well as content.

Result
Nations Funds emerged with true plain language prospectuses that met the new rules set by the SEC.