“A recent survey indicates that financial advisers, in the interest of their clients, continue to seek more frequent updates on the makeup of mutual-fund portfolios, fueling a debate that has dogged the fund industry for some time,” writes John Shipman in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal.

“Advocates for increased disclosure by mutual fund companies say the current semiannual requirement is inadequate. Shareholders are left to rely on outdated data when evaluating their investments, they say, and portfolios and investment strategies can change rapidly.”

“The opponents, namely the majority of mutual fund companies and their trade group, the Investment Company Institute, say more frequent disclosure will help only those seeking to trade off the strategies and knowledge of a fund’s holdings, and will hurt fund performance. Moreover, they argue, there’s been no hue and cry coming from average investors.”

“The survey of financial advisers, which came out last week, was commissioned by MetaMarkets.com, a self-described Web-centric investment company and financial discussion community founded three years ago.”

“In the Harris Poll, a sampling of 538 fee-only or fee-based advisers showed two-thirds believe that having complete lists of their clients’ fund holdings more than twice a year would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ benefit their ability to serve their clients.”

“Last July, a similar poll of fund shareholders found roughly two-thirds think it’s important they or their financial adviser know what investments are held in their fund.”

“Certainly, MetaMarkets has an interest in promoting more frequent disclosure. It manages OpenFund, a fund with net assets of about $11 million that provides investors with full-time access to its holdings and performance. As of April 1, the fund was down 17.7% this year, according to Morningstar Inc.”