BISA Magazine - Quarter 3, 2017 - 24

COMPLIANCE & REGULATORY WATCH

C
Is the SEC
Inching
Toward a
Uniform
Fiduciary
Standard?
By Jeffrey S. Holik

24
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hairman Jay Clayton served
notice recently that the
Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) will
again become active in the
long-standing debate over the legal
duties owed by broker-dealers to their
retail customers. In a public statement
issued on June 1, - one month after
his Senate confirmation to lead the
Commission, and just days before the
implementation deadline for portions
of the Department of Labor (DOL)
Conflict of Interest (aka Fiduciary Duty)
Rule - Chairman Clayton reasserted
the SEC's claim to broad jurisdiction over the issue and invited public
comment.1 In doing so, Mr. Clayton
accepted DOL's invitation2 to engage
constructively as the Commission
moves forward once again with its examination of the standards of conduct
applicable to investment advisers and
broker-dealers.
The question remains whether the SEC
has the will and the wherewithal to get
anything done. Skeptics will point out
that SEC commissioners have long been
too divided to reach consensus about
whether the SEC's rules holding investment advisers to fiduciary standards
should be applied to broker-dealers.
Since 2010, the SEC has had the authority to develop its own standards,3 but it
has not done so. Others will argue that
it will be different this time because
of the urgency brought about by the
DOL rule.

Background: A Long and
Tortured History
Mr. Clayton's declaration that the SEC
will undertake a broad new assessment
of the current regulatory framework,
including a review of the "state of the
market for retail investment advice
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BISA Magazine - Quarter 3, 2017
