Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton wants to hear from individual investors and others about whether the commission should proceed with its own fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisors and what that should look like.
"I encourage the public to send us feedback and any data that may be helpful to us," said Clayton, in his speech before the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday, his first major speech since becoming chairman.
Clayton was referring to a wide-ranging request for public comments on the "Standards of Conduct for Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers" published on the SEC website on June 1 of this year, less than a month after he was sworn into the job.
He told the audience that any SEC action on investment advice and disclosure to investors "will need to be carefully constructed so it provides appropriate and meaningful protections but does not result in Main Street investors being deprived of affordable investment advice or products." He also said, as he has before though not necessarily using the exact same words, that he hopes to work in concert with the Labor Department to serve "the long-term interests of Mr. and Ms. 401(k)."
Clayton didn't elaborate or take any questions from reporters on these or other remarks.
Implementation of Labor's fiduciary rule began on June 9 and full compliance is not required until Jan. 1, 2018, but the Labor Department itself has issued a Request for Information from the public that could be used to revise the rule and delay its full implementation.
