Each week we’re giving you our weekly report highlighting the top compliance news articles from various industry news publications. We have selected the most relevant and important news articles related to registered investment adviser (RIA) compliance and regulatory issues. Check back each week for the latest list of top stories.
Here’s our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of February 6, 2016:
- Congressman Calls for Finra Oversight of Investment Advisers (Author- Mark Schoeff Jr., InvestmentNews)
Once again there is talk in in Washington, DC around the oversight of RIA firms being transitioned from the Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA continues to believe that the current level of investment adviser oversight and examinations are unacceptable and a risk to investors. Meanwhile, the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) says the SEC should maintain its jurisdiction over advisers. The IAA notes that FINRA’s regulatory model would impose an unnecessary layer of regulation and bureaucracy. Check out this article to learn more about the continuing debate around the proper ways to regulate and examine RIA firms.
- Sen. Warren Accuses Annuity Providers of Double Talk on DOL Fiduciary Rule (Author-Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor)
Earlier this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren made an interesting observation that large insurance companies and financial services firms have been exaggerating the negative impacts of the rule. While on one hand these fimrs are telling Congress and regulators that the new Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule would be catastrophic, on the other hand they are continuing to tell public shareholders on the record that the new rule can be managed and will not have significant impact.
- The White House Wants to Teach You About Online Security (Author- Priya Anand, ThinkAdvisor)
The White House’s cybersecurity national action plan that is part of a $19 billion investment in strengthening online safety across the federal government was released on Tuesday. It aims to empower Americans to boost their security awareness through public education campaigns. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is emphasized in the plan in order to further protect people online. This means there will be an extra step to the log-in process on websites to further verify the user’s identity with more than just a password. Priya Anand describes the reasoning behind the plan.
- Obama Aims to Double SEC Funding to Target Adviser Oversight (Author- Mark Schoeff Jr., InvestmentNews)
President Barack Obama wants to help the Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC) better regulate investment advisers by doubling the agency’s funding over the next five years to protect investors. This would be an 11% increase, making the budget reach $1.8 billion. The budget currently states, “Without adequate staffing, the SEC is not able to examine investment advisers as frequently as they should.” Along with this issue, Mr. Obama’s budget also proposes more than $3 trillion in tax increases. Check out this article to read more on the possible effects under the president’s new budget proposal.
- With Veo Village Hive Buzzing in background, Tom Nally Rides Herd on RIA ‘Wild West’ Threats at Vibrant LINC 2016 (Author- Timothy Welsh, RIABiz)
TD Ameritrade (TDA) held their annual LINC conference in Orlando, FL which included 3,200 attendees. Tom Nally, chief executive of TDA, opened by praising the crowd but also stressed that the RIA industry needs to recognize that others in the financial advisor ecosystem are claiming that investment advisory firms are not properly regulated. Mr Nally urged those in attendance that they need to step up and support different measures such as 3rd party exams to continue to build trust with clients. Tim Welsh, president of Nexus Strategy LLC, provides an update to RIABiz on this and other developments from the conference.
Be sure to check back next Friday for next week’s top articles!