Regulation

Is the brokerage industry really the safer advisory alternative for consumers? Bob Veres is dubious.

“I think this would absolutely impact all of our small business owners,” said Karen Nystrom, manager of public policy and advocacy with NAPFA. “We agree that more oversight is needed but where we differ is the most cost effective way to get there.”

The Investment Adviser Oversight Act of 2012 is meant to address what proponents say is a serious gap in investor protection. Sure enough, industry groups from all side are weighing in on whether the idea will help or hinder the profession.

In a move expected to draw the ire of some advisors, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala) introduced legislation in the house Wednesday that could clear the way for FINRA to become the self-regulatory organization for retail investment advisors.

Ignore the rhetoric from both sides on the issue. The odds that the business lending bill will be enacted this year are significantly slimmer than they were just last week.

“SIFMA’s views are not supportable and would make a mockery of the fiduciary standard,” according to The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard in a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The regulator cited the Egan-Jones Ratings Company and its president Sean Egan for “material misrepresentations and omissions” in its 2008 application to become a national ratings agency.

If you want to ace your examinations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, remember these three phrases: fund governance, fraudulent activities and performance and advertising.

Federico R. Buenrostro, former CEO of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, and a friend fabricated documents given to New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management, costing the asset manager $20 million in “fees it would not otherwise have paid,’’ the federal regulator said.

Financial reform will lead to a new emphasis on credentials in the financial services industry, which puts the Investment Management Consultants Association in a good position, says IMCA Executive Director and Chief Executive Sean Walters.