Enquirer staff

FAIRFIELD - Cincinnati Financial Corp. said Monday it would ask the Securities & Exchange Commission for an exemption from filings required of investment companies.

The Investment Company Act of 1940 requires companies whose investment holdings exceed 40 percent of its total assets to file reports beyond those normally required of publicly traded companies.

Cincinnati Financial, an insurance company based in Fairfield, had a 58.5 percent investments-to-assets ratio as of Dec. 31 and has had at least 40 percent since 1991.

The company said the concern arose after its investment bankers and lawyers prepared a debt offering. The SEC has never required Cincinnati Financial, which is primarily engaged in the sale of insurance products, to file as an investment company.

Shares in Cincinnati Financial closed at $42.58, up 1 cent.