The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an online tool that enables investors to compare what 500 of the largest public companies in America are paying their top executives.

The Executive Compensation Reader--available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/xbrl --builds on the SEC's new requirements to enhance clarity and completeness of executive compensation disclosure.

"Gone are the complicated data expeditions that forced investors to hunt through financial statements, footnotes, proxy statements, and other disclosure documents to figure out how much a company pays its top executives," says SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. "Through its new rules and the power of interactive data, the SEC has transformed the landscape of compensation disclosure. The result is quicker and better analysis, and better-informed shareholders."

The tool allows investors to view Summary Compensation Tables and certain other data in the proxy statements of large companies. Investors can see the total annual pay as well as dollar amounts for salary, bonus, stock, options and company perks. Investors can also compare those executive compensation figures with other companies by sorting according to industry or size.

The SEC's new web tool includes information for 500 large companies that have filed proxy statements with the SEC. The new tool includes direct links to companies' proxy statements, including footnotes and the companies' explanation of their compensation decisions.