Washington, D.C., November 30, 2017 – SIFMA today issued the following statement to clarify and explain the limited role performed by the current Administrator of the Broker Protocol, the law firm of Bressler, Amery & Ross (“Bressler”):

The Broker Protocol is a private agreement among its 1500+ signatories. SIFMA is not a signatory to the Broker Protocol and, since 2015, has played no part in administering it. In the spring of 2015, SIFMA approached Bressler and asked Bressler to take over the administration of the Broker Protocol from SIFMA.  Since Bressler represents many Protocol members, before agreeing to serve as Administrator, Bressler conducted due diligence to assure itself that no conflicts could exist between and among its clients and other members of the Protocol.  Bressler reviewed its prospective responsibilities with SIFMA and satisfied itself that the role of Administrator was purely ministerial and would not result in any conflicts.  Bressler acts as Administrator as a service to the industry and is not compensated for its work.

The Administrator’s role in the Protocol process is very simple.  Bressler keeps a current list of Protocol participants.  Each week it receives notices from market participants joining or resigning from the Protocol.  On the following Monday, around 4:00 p.m. ET, Bressler distributes by email any notices of joiner or resignation from the preceding week.  The list of current participants is then updated and made available through the Bressler website.

This process has been followed since May 4, 2015, when Bressler took over the responsibility of administering the Broker Protocol.

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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.