Saying that the
The $6 trillion mutual fund industrys expansion to more than 5,000 investment companies and 7,000 investment advisors "has exceeded our resources," Commissioner Robert Colby said. Inspections by the SEC every five years are inadequate protections for investors, Colby said.
"Like cops on the beat, we cannot be everywhere at all times," he said.
Acknowledging that some estimates put annual compliance with the SECs ideas at about one million man hours of time a year, an SEC economist said he had not calculated how much these new rules might cost the industry.
But Commissioner Lori Richards said that a self-regulatory agency, in particular, would likely shorten the length of SEC inspections.