Investors have lived with this situation since the beginning of mutual fund time, largely without complaint. But it poses a major complication for anyone trying to keep track of investments--especially when sorting out exactly how diversified he or she really is among several funds.

Funds have always been a grab bag--you purchase a sack of goodies without seeing what's inside. Of course, investors get to see what their funds' holdings are twice each year, and some funds offer snippets of portfolio detail--asset allocation, for instance--as often as once a month.

Today, thanks to the Internet, funds can disseminate portfolio information at virtually no cost and on a daily basis. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission doesn't want to force more regular disclosures, it is clear that the agency would have no problem with a fund posting its holdings on a daily basis.