Regulation

Mary Jo White was sworn in as SEC chairman and led a meeting where the agency approved rules requiring brokers and investment advisors to adopt identity-theft prevention programs.

Mary Jo White was sworn in this morning as the 31st Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A top executive with Fidelity urged congressional action to stave off what he described as "a looming retirement crisis," appealing to lawmakers to pressure the Department of Labor to avoid an expansive redefinition of fiduciary responsibilities for advisors, among other things.

The Financial Services Institute is heralding the advance of legislation in Florida that would significantly ease the registration process for advisors representing firms headquartered in other states.

The suitability of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds climbed on FINRA’s Enforcement hit list in 2012, according to Partners Deborah Heilizer and Brian Rubin and Associate Andrew McCormick of law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan’s, in their annual review of the regulatory agency’s disciplinary actions.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., reintroduced legislation Tuesday to break up the largest financial institutions. The bill was light on details, however, and did not spell out how a breakup should be done.

Former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Monday to serve as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It’s official: The Senate on Monday confirmed former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White as the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Reuter reports.

A former Financial Industry Regulatory Authority employee filed a whistle-blower suit in federal court, claiming he was fired after detecting a flaw in a Finra’s risk-rating system that allowed large broker-dealers to be over-leveraged.

Want proof that advisors need to be engaging with social media? Consider the SEC’s decision this week to let publicly traded companies make material corporate announcements on sites like Facebook and Twitter.