The Investment Adviser Association and other planning groups are "working hard" to get a bipartisan user fees bill introduced in the Senate that mirrors H.R. 1627, legislation introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., that has been languishing in the House, Neil Simon, the Investment Adviser Association's chief lobbyist, said Thursday.
Speaking at the IAA's annual compliance conference in Arlington, Va., just outside Washington, Simon said that planning groups were ramping up their efforts to rally support for a user fees bill in the Senate as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority "remains committed" to gaining oversight authority of investment advisors.
While FINRA failed in its attempt to get the House to pass a bill appointing it as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for advisors, FINRA is still actively "laying the foundation for a future lobbying efforts" on this front, Simon told the audience of 250 compliance officials.
Evidence of this lobbying, he said, is Congress' insistence on "keeping the SEC's budget flat" so that the agency lacks the funds to add more examiners.
Simon said IAA and its members will push the user fees issue during IAA's lobbying day in Washington on June 12.
