Gap Narrows in Access to SEC Filings

WASHINGTON—A time lag that could give some investors early access to market-moving documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission has all but disappeared, according to an academic tracking the data. Delays between the time a private data feed publishes regulatory filings to the SEC and when the filings appear on the agency’s website have diminished since Wednesday afternoon, said Prof. Robert Jackson of Columbia Law School. The shift came after The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that some sophisticated investors were gaining access to documents ahead of others. The early look gave them a potential advantage over investors relying on the public website, according to findings by Mr. Jackson as well as a separate group of academics studying the same topic. More in the Wall Street Journal here.