Financial Planning Coalition Statement on SEC Oversight Hearing

The Financial Planning Coalition – comprising Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) – issued the following statement in response to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White’s testimony during today’s House Financial Services Committee SEC Oversight hearing:

“The Financial Planning Coalition is gratified that Chair White and the SEC continue to make the consideration of a uniform fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisers a high priority.  But the time for action in the name of investor protection is now.  We urge Chair White and the SEC to heed the recommendations of investor advocates, adviser groups, and the major broker-dealer trade association, as well as its own Investor Advisory Committee, and proceed with this much-needed rulemaking under Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Act.”   

“In addition, the SEC’s current inability to regularly examine registered investment advisers needlessly exposes investors to greater risks of fraud and abuse.  Authorizing the SEC to collect user fees from advisers is a pragmatic and cost-effective solution to fill the gap in the Commission’s funding, and we call on Congress, beginning with the House Financial Services Committee, to make this a reality.”

Throughout the SEC’s deliberations on these matters, the Coalition has sought to be a resource, including most recently documenting the clear harm to investors caused by the absence of a uniform fiduciary standard. The Coalition agrees with Chair White that if the Commission is to fulfill its mission to protect investors, it must be adequately funded to effectively examine SEC-registered investment advisers, who manage approximately $48 trillion of American investors’ assets each year.  We are committed to working with the SEC, Congress and all interested parties to restore trust in our capital markets through the appropriate regulation and oversight of those who provide financial advice to American investors.

About the Financial Planning Coalition