The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) recently outlined an aggressive advocacy agenda calling for affirmative congressional action to promote sustained investor confidence by keeping U.S. capital markets free and fair.
Our legislative agenda also provides the 113th Congress with a roadmap to promote investor confidence by striking the most reasonable balance between promoting capital formation and protecting investors.
This agenda, the most comprehensive NASAA has developed, is built on a foundation that seeks to:
—Promote market accountability;
—Promote greater transparency and systemic stability, and to reduce market volatility;
—Ensure investor protection provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are implemented;
—Ensure all investors are protected when receiving individualized investment advice; and
—Provide the strongest protection for Main Street investors.
I encourage you to read our agenda on NASAA's website.
Our agenda calls for Congress to ensure all investors are protected when receiving individualized investment advice. This revolves around two key issues. The first is to improve the oversight of federally registered investment advisors by providing the SEC with the resources it needs to do the job. The second is to see that the SEC expands the fiduciary standard of care currently applicable to investment advisors to broker-dealers who provide personalized investment advice.
Investment Advisor Regulation
Recognizing current political realities, NASAA believes that the most effective and efficient way for Congress to improve the oversight of federally registered investment advisors is to enact legislation authorizing the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) to collect user fees from the investment advisors it examines.
We are very encouraged that Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, recently indicated that she soon plans to reintroduce legislation to authorize the SEC to assess user fees on investment advisors to fund an expansion of its advisor examinations.
As a matter of efficiency and cost, authorizing the SEC to fund enhanced oversight of federally registered investment advisors through the imposition of user fees also makes more sense than establishing a new SRO for investment advisers.
