The Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor Advisory Committee approved Friday two of its subcommittee's recommendations: one on how the SEC should move forward on crafting a fiduciary rule for brokers, and a second proposal requesting that the SEC ask Congress to allow the agency to impose user fees on advisors to fund their exams.
The recommendations were put forth by the Investor as Purchaser subcommittee, which is chaired by Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America.
SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White said before the meeting that she looked "forward" to hearing about the committee's recommendations, "both of which I consider very important."
The subcommittee recommendation on how brokers should be put under a fiduciary mandate sailed through the full committee Friday in little time and with much praise. Committee member Steve Wallman, founder and CEO of FOLIOfn and a former SEC commissioner, said that as the only "broker-dealer in the room," he thought the subcommittee's plan was "an excellent approach," and that it "would be a terrific step forward" in informing the SEC fiduciary rule as well as the one being crafted by the Department of Labor.
While committee members supported assessing user fees to help boost advisor exams, they voiced concern with how the user fees would ultimately be assessed and whether the cost would trickle down to investors.
The subcommittee believes that the SEC should request legislation that would allow it "to impose user fees on SEC-registered investment advisors to enhance advisor exams, including more frequent onsite exams," said Craig Goettsch, director of Investor Education and Consumer Outreach at the Iowa Insurance Division.
The subcommittee noted the support among industry groups for the user-fees bill that was introduced during the current Congress by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee.
H.R. 1627, the Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2013, "enjoys support from many investment advisor industry associations," the subcommittee said. No companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate.
Roper told ThinkAdvisor that while the subcommittee recommendation "doesn't specify a legislative vehicle, the Waters bill would be consistent with our recommendation."