Washington, D.C., October 11, 2017 – SIFMA today issued the following statement on H.R. 3857, the Protecting Advice for Small Savers Act of 2017, from SIFMA president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr.:

“SIFMA has long supported a best interest standard for brokers, for all accounts where advice is provided, established under the federal securities laws.  H.R. 3857, the Protecting Advice for Small Savers Act of 2017, provides a path forward by appropriately underscoring the lead role of the SEC as the nation’s primary securities regulator with a long history of investor protection, market regulation and enforcement. We firmly believe that this approach could provide a number of significant regulatory efficiency and investor protection benefits, thus relieving America’s retirement savers from the burdens that have arisen as a consequence of the DOL’s misguided rule.  We greatly appreciate Congresswoman Wagner’s work on this legislation.  We will continue to support the establishment of a best interest standard which operates in harmony and consistency with all existing standards of conduct, including the current broker dealer, Investment Advisor, and DOL Rule regulatory frameworks, as well as any future rulemaking by the SEC or FINRA.”

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SIFMA is the voice of the U.S. securities industry. We represent the broker-dealers, banks and asset managers whose nearly 1 million employees provide access to the capital markets, raising over $2.5 trillion for businesses and municipalities in the U.S., serving clients with over $18.5 trillion in assets and managing more than $67 trillion in assets for individual and institutional clients including mutual funds and retirement plans. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.