While SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White said in mid-November that the agency had not yet decided "whether to do something or what to do" regarding a fiduciary rulemaking, White said she planned to provide "clarity" as to her position regarding a uniform fiduciary rule in the "short term."
Deciding whether to press ahead on a uniform fiduciary rule is "something I think is enormously important to do," White told attendees at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's annual conference in New York.
When asked at the SIFMA event why the agency has delayed making a decision regarding a fiduciary rule, White said that there are "very diverse views" at the commission regarding such a rule. The "inquiry as to what to do" about a fiduciary rule "doesn't end with saying, 'Let's have a uniform fiduciary duty,'" as there are "a lot of different things that can mean."
Added White: "Care needs to be taken to ensure we're not harming investors by driving away service providers in the brokerage space."
White had said earlier this year that the agency would make a "threshold decision" by year end on whether to move ahead with a rule to put brokers under a fiduciary mandate.
