Washington, DC, July 21, 2017 – SIFMA today submitted comments to the SEC in response to Chairman Clayton’s recent request for public comment on the standards of conduct for investment advisers and broker-dealers.

“SIFMA has long supported the establishment of a best interest standard of conduct for brokers when making recommendations about securities to retail customers,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA president and CEO.  “As the primary regulator, the SEC should take the lead and work with FINRA to develop a heightened standard that builds upon the existing broker-dealer regulatory regime, and encompasses a duty of loyalty, a duty of care and enhanced up-front disclosures.  The SEC has always been the appropriate regulator to address this, for all retail brokerage accounts, something SIFMA and several Congresses have long supported. We look forward to working with the SEC on a solution that promotes investor protection and restores product choice and access to advice for America’s retirement savers without raising costs.”

SIFMA’s letter comments on the feasibility of the four regulatory options currently being evaluated by the SEC: 1) maintaining the existing regulatory structure, 2) requiring enhanced disclosures to mitigate investor confusion, 3) developing a best interest standard for broker-dealers, and 4) developing a uniform standard of conduct for BDs and investment advisers when providing personalized investment advice to retail investors.

SIFMA’s letter emphasizes our strong support for coordination between the SEC and the Department of Labor (DOL), and the unique opportunity it presents to craft a single, consistent long-term solution for all retail investors.

SIFMA also asks the SEC to join us in urging the DOL to extend the January 1, 2018 applicability date of the provisions in the DOL’s Best Interest Contract Exemption and Principal Transactions Exemption that are not now in effect.

The full letter can be read here: http://www.sifma.org/issues/item.aspx?id=8589968054.

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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 $20 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.