The SEC held its first Investor Advisory Committee meeting of 2015. SEC Chair Mary Jo White delivered the opening remarks on developments undertaken by the SEC and issues on which it intends to focus in 2015.
Chair White stated that the staff of the Division of Investment Management is analyzing the asset management industry currently and developing recommendations that target three core initiatives:
- enhanced data reporting for funds and investment advisers;
- controls that identify and manage risks related to the composition of registered funds’ portfolios; and
- transition plans in the event of major disruptions that prevent investment advisers from serving clients.
Additionally, Chair White explained that the staff will continue to consider whether broker-dealers should be subject to a fiduciary standard when providing investment advice and will review the “accredited investor” definition. She also noted that the SEC currently is reviewing over 50 comments on FINRA’s Tick Size Pilot Program.
Chair White announced that on February 19, 2015, the SEC will hold a roundtable to discuss the proxy voting process, including universal proxy ballots and retail participation in the proxy process.
Lofchie Comment: The government should not impose further information requirements concerning advisers and funds without being more forthcoming about the failure of Form PF. The financial industry spends huge amounts of money providing the government with “data” that is utterly worthless. Before the SEC demands more information from advisers and funds, it ought to examine and disclose what went wrong with the creation of Form PF so that the same regulatory sinkhole can be avoided on the second try.
See: SEC Chair White’s Opening Remarks.