First the Labor Department's fiduciary rule
The federal government's failure to rally behind a uniform fiduciary standard for brokers and advisors left a vacuum that lawmakers in a variety of states are
But some worry that state efforts will add an unwelcome new layer of regulation and impinge on SEC-registered advisors.
In Nevada, regulators are considering a proposal for a uniform fiduciary standard that would apply in equal measure to brokers and advisors, offering only a limited exemption for certain kinds of brokerage activity. To the Investment Adviser Association, a group that represents federally registered advisors, that could be an unwelcome new layer of regulation for its members, who already must comply with the fiduciary standard under the Investment Advisers Act.
A spokeswoman for Nevada's office of the secretary of state did not immediately respond to a question about the scope of the state's fiduciary regulation.
Nevada is accepting comments on the proposal through March 1, and the IAA intends to submit a comment letter citing the 1996 National Securities Markets Improvement Act.
"For more than 20 years, federal law has prohibited states from adopting any rules, interpretations or guidance that would have the effect of substantively regulating SEC-registered advisors," IAA CEO Karen Barr writes in the group's forthcoming newsletter, a copy of which was provided to Financial Planning. "The IAA will engage with policymakers in any state that appears to be moving in that direction."
The IAA is seeking explicit guidance from Nevada assuring that SEC-registered advisors would be exempt from its rule.
Brent McIntosh is Citi's chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Brent leads Citi's Global Legal Affairs & Compliance organization, which includes the Legal Department, Independent Compliance Risk Management, Citi Security and Investigative Services and Citi's Regulatory Strategy and Policy function. He is a member of Citi's Executive Management Team.
Brent served as under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs from 2019 to 2021. From 2017 to 2019, Brent served as Treasury's general counsel. Prior to that, he was a partner in the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell.
Brent served in the White House from 2006 until 2009, first as associate counsel to the president and then as deputy assistant to the president and deputy staff secretary. Before that, he was a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department.
Susana Ortega Valle is the VP of Product, where she leads the strategic vision for how small business owners engage with insurance. Throughout her two-decade career, she has built a reputation for developing high-performance teams that thrive on innovation and challenge conventional thinking.
Prior to joining Simply Business, Susana held digital product leadership roles at State Street and Santander Bank. Her approach to data-informed, AI-forward product strategy is backed by a robust academic foundation, including two MS degrees in Telecommunications Engineering and an MBA from MIT.
Advisors know that a transition plan is important, but many fall into the trap of procrastination.
The group is asking
Michael Koffler, a partner with law firm Eversheds Sutherland in New York, points to the
"[I]ndustry associations report they are 'happy and pleased to see' their perceived ability to exploit harmful conflicts that the DoL rule would have eliminated or constrained will not be curbed by the SEC's Proposed Reg BI," NASAA writes. "This is not an encouraging reaction to a rule designed to significantly reduce, if not outright eliminate, conflicted advice for retail investors."
"Basically the thrust of the comment letter was this is not going to change anything in practice, it's just going require some additional disclosure but all the conflicted advice brokers provide will continue," Koffler said during a recent panel discussion that Eversheds broadcast online.
No wonder, he said, that more states are choosing to forge their own path.
"Those sorts of concerns by the states of looking at Regulation Best Interest as more of a cosmetic fix more than changing substantive practice is why we think you see states like Maryland and Nevada proceeding with their own regulatory frameworks in this area," Koffler said.
