Regulatory reform

Some of the largest firms and their most stringent critics are wondering what Gary Gensler’s team will do in 2022 with Reg BI.

The regulator’s frequent reviews display shortcomings in three different areas, according to a new GAO report.

The head of the regulator pledged vigorous enforcement of the controversial rule.

A streamlined “one-stop shop” would assist planners of all stripes in performing due diligence and other actions.

A new report from PIABA says independent advisors are as bad as brokers when it comes to cheating investors and paying awards.

Form CRS was supposed to clear things up, but it’s made things worse, a fiduciary critic says.

Although they praise certain changes in a rule up for SEC approval, client attorneys and researchers say the process has further flaws.

Free investment education and testing for risk tolerance are among the ways financial firms can better reach underserved consumers, former SEC chief Jay Clayton and Operation HOPE’s John Hope Bryant say.

the Labor Department said it wouldn’t enforce Trump-era rules for fund investments or proxy voting, nor will it sanction retirement plans that don’t comply with the regulations.

The department says it is working “to determine how we might improve” the regulation.

Regulators and Washington policy makers are sure to up scrutiny once the dust settles on the market turmoil that has buffeted GameStop and others.

“The sheriff is coming to the preeminent financial regulator in the world,” said Justin Slaughter, a consultant at Mercury Strategies. “It means regulation and enforcement are about to get much tougher.”

With a new administration, the regulator has an opportunity to renew its focus on a key pillar of its mission.

With a divided government, some proposals are bound to change as part of the give-and-take of the legislative process, writes Skip Schweiss.

With a Democrat set to take the White House in January, the agenda for agencies like the CFPB could undergo a rapid transformation, housing finance reform could be turned on its head and progressive banking ideas that were unthinkable over the past four years could gain traction.

The uncertainty could lead to market volatility, delayed stimulus negotiations and complicate planning for a potentially new regulatory environment.

What different outcomes could mean for financial planners and their clients.

The Labor Department has opened the door to using PE as a component of a target date fund held within a DC plan, writes iCapital Network CEO Lawrence Calcano.

From regulations to taxes, big changes could be in the offing.

Industry groups warn of creeping fiduciary obligations, while consumer advocates see it as a setback for investor protections