Via E-Mail to [email protected]
Vanessa Countryman
Acting Secretary
Securities and Exchange Commission
I 00 F Street NE
Washington, DC 20549-1090
Re: Federal Preemption of State Regulation under NSMIA: Regulation Best
Interest (SEC Release No. 34-83062; File No. S7-07-18); and Form CRS Customer Relationship Summary (SEC Release No. 34-83063; IA-4888; File No. S?-08-18).
Dear Ms. Countryman:
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) 1 appreciates the opportunity to further comment on the above-captioned proposals ( collectively, “Reg BI”)).
As we have consistently stated over the past decade, SIFMA supports strong, substantive conduct standards for broker-dealers (“BDs”) and investment advisers (“IAs”) that not only enhance investor protection but also preserve investor access to transaction-based advice and a variety of investment products. For those reasons, we generally support the SEC’s current effort to finalize comprehensive federal regulations that will meaningfully raise the bar for BDs when providing personalized investment advice about securities to retail customers.
In the meantime, however, a number of states have entered the fray and have proposed or are considering proposing regulations that would create new state-level fiduciary duties for BDs. New Jersey and Maryland, for example, may propose fiduciary duty regulations sometime this year. Nevada is by far the furthest along.