Americans for Financial Reform

Government Category: Advocacy Documents

AFR Testimony: Expansion of ERISA Fiduciary Duty Protection is “Long Overdue”

“Over the forty years since the existing DOL rule was written, retirement markets have transformed and workers have become overwhelmingly reliant on self-directed savings. Due to the loopholes in the current rule, brokers providing advice on such self-directed savings can easily evade the fiduciary protections that Congress intended to provide to workers saving for their retirement through employment-based plans.”

Letter to Regulators: AFR Calls on Department of Labor to Protect Retirement Investors

“This is a huge problem – one that, over time, can easily add up to a difference of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement savings. Under the current rules, some of the financial professionals offering retirement investment advice are legally bound to look out for the best interests of their clients; but other professionals, while perceived as having such a duty and clearly benefiting from the perception, are free to put their own interests first, even if that means saddling their clients with needlessly high fees or inappropriate risks.”

Letter to Congress: Lawmakers Should Let Federal Reserve Do Its Job

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), we are writing to express our opposition to “The Federal Reserve Reform Act of 2015”. Among other responsibilities, the Federal Reserve is the single most significant regulator of U.S. financial institutions, including the large Wall Street banks that played a central role in the 2008 financial crisis. “

Letter to Regulators: AFR, AFSCME and CFA Oppose Weakening of Independence Standard for Municipal Advisors

“As discussed below, we do believe that this proposal outlines a significant rule change that could potentially reverse the statutory intention of the Dodd-Frank Act to provide a majority of independent members on the Board. We suggest that the Board extend the comment period to allow for more detailed examination of this proposal by members of the public interest community with an interest in municipal finance.”