SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar will almost certainly be the acting chair of the Commission and could potentially be the new chairman of the agency, former SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar said Wednesday.
However, Aguilar, a staunch advocate of the agency adopting a uniform fiduciary standard for brokers and advisors during his time at the agency, said during remarks at the MarketCounsel Summit in Miami Beach that Piwowar would not embrace the agency moving ahead on a fiduciary rule, as current SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White has.
"I'm not optimistic. I just don't think it's [a uniform fiduciary rule] going to happen. The soon to be acting chair of the SEC [Piwowar] has been on record to say he's not happy with it."
If Piwowar, a Republican appointee, isn't selected by President-Elect Donald Trump to be the next acting chair or permanent chair, "I think it will be someone with similar views," Aguilar said.
Aguilar added: "I'm not very optimistic about the DOL [Department of Labor fiduciary] rule either."
Attorney Brian Hamburger who heads regulatory consulting firm MarketCounsel, noted MarketCounsel's belief that the DOL's fiduciary rule "won't make its way to implementation."
With the departure of White in January, the commission will only have two commissioners—Piwowar and Kara Stein, a Democratic appointee.
