Given the unfortunate demise of the Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule and the glaring deficiencies in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Regulation Best Interest, we greatly appreciate states such as New Jersey that are willing to step in to fill the regulatory void by providing the protections investors need and expect.
The message, for too long, has been that policymakers must choose between policies that protect shareholders’ interest and those that protect workers’ interests. Investors know that economic stability is good for investment outcomes. Over the long-term, economic stability requires broad-based economic growth and shared prosperity.
Unfortunately, while we believe it would be possible to adopt standards that meet investors’ reasonable expectations under the Commission’s chosen regulatory approach, the regulatory package as currently drafted does not achieve that goal.
AFR opposed twelve bills that would leave investors more vulnerable to harm and abuse, and make the nation’s capital markets less safe, and supported five of the measures that would improve disclosures or investor protections.
Given the evidence that, after being provided a summary relationship disclosure, investors still cannot fully understand, and in some cases misunderstand, fundamental differences in the nature of the brokerage and advisory relationships and the respective duties they are owed, the different fees they would pay, or how various conflicts of interest can influence the recommendations they receive, a regulatory regime that relies on disclosure for investors to make an informed decision about what type of financial professional to work with and what type of account to use is certain to fail.
October 11, 2018 AFL-CIO and Americans for Financial Reform wrote a letter to the Senate to state opposition to S. 488 (the so-called “JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018”) which has been passed by the House of Representatives. Many industry lobbyists are pressing for
The SEC’s proposed “Regulation Best Interest” is anything but, a plan for creating a veneer of investor protection that would fail to chase bad practices out of the industry that cost savers $40 billion per year. Many savers fall victim to brokers who steer them into investments that pay lucrative fees but don’t generate the best possible return for investors.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund sent a letter to the SEC regarding proposed amendments to the Commission’s Whistleblower Program rules. While we generally support a few of the proposed amendments, we are concerned that a number other proposed changes would initially undermine the Whistleblower
“’Quarterly disclosures are very important. A lot can happen in six months, and it’s just not appropriate to reduce disclosures,’ said Marcus Stanley, the policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of foundations, unions and public interest groups that pushes for stronger financial regulation. ‘It’s just going to advantage insiders further.’”