At SIFMA Summit, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler Is Ready to Go on Reform

Gensler has been on the record for months as backing the extension of fiduciary duty for brokers who provide advice to retail investors. But there has been controversy about sale of derivatives or swaps to certain institutions that may be less sophisticated than others by Wall Street firms. Some municipalities, pension funds and foundations have run into trouble over swaps or derivatives sold to them.

When asked about extension of fiduciary duty to this kind of investor, Gensler told WealthManagerWeb that "additive protections [take up] pages of the statute, with additional business conduct statutes." Provisions added in the conference designate a "special entities group for additional protections," he added.

In his speech, Gensler said his goal for the activities the CFTC was to "protect the American public" by increasing transparency.

The U.S. is second in a global sweep of reforms, Gensler noted, Japan acted on derivatives a few weeks ago, now the U.S. and the European parliament will in September.