BlackRock has filed a letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to its request for public comments on the proposal to enhance target date fund disclosure. 

Barbara Novick, vice chairman and head of BlackRock's government relations efforts, says target date funds provide unique advantages in helping defined contribution plan participants and others investing for retirement to maintain a diversified asset allocation strategy that changes over time.

While the current focus on target date funds is primarily due to their performance during the market downturn in 2008, Novick says target date funds are designed as long-term investments and their risk adjusted performance and suitability should be considered in this larger context.

"We strongly support the SEC's goal of enhanced disclosure as an adequate measure to improve investment decisions and believe that disclosure on asset allocation would be best presented by way of a required graph or chart, that would allow plan participants to visualise the glide path and help understand how asset allocation changes over time. We are concerned that the commission's proposal to add asset allocation information to the name of the fund will confuse rather than assist investors," she adds.