SEC Chair Aims At Investor Protection

Critics say she’s yet another example of the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street, and that she’s even used her influence to protect CEOs from prosecution.

In the broader context of protecting retail investors, though, few would question White’s resolve as the SEC looks to implement key aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act.

The sweeping law, passed in the wake of the financial crisis, is aimed at protecting Main Street investors by curbing the huge risks that Wall Street seems all too willing to take — often with other people’s money.

In the rule-making department, for instance, White announced that uniform fiduciary standards for broker-dealers and investment advisors were “an immediate and high priority,” as outlined under Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

“I have made this a priority because it is very important and we need to move forward to a decision,” she said.

When advising retail investors, broker/dealers are only required to meet a “suitability” threshold as a standard. Investment advisors are required to meet a fiduciary standard, which is considered a higher standard of care.

Investors, though, often don’t know the difference between suitability and a fiduciary standard, much less that such a distinction even exists. Critics of the financial advisory industry point to the conflicts of interest inherent in the lower suitability standards threshold.

Last year, White also announced that the agency was raising the bar on which defendants would be allowed to settle cases “without admitting or denying what they did wrong or admitting to facts that showed that they broke the law.”

Known as the “no admit/no deny” settlement protocol, the enforcement strategy has for years allowed the SEC to speed up the return of ill-gotten gains. It has even allowed the SEC to obtain the equivalent or higher penalties through the settlement than if the matter had been brought to court.

But under White, the SEC last summer toughened the no admit/no deny standard. Accused parties are required to admit fault in cases where violations are “particularly egregious,” or where many investors were harmed or placed at high risk.

White said the change was necessary to “achieve greater public accountability and bolster the public’s confidence in the safety of our markets.”

In 2013, the SEC’s Enforcement Division obtained orders to return $3.4 billion in penalties, the highest level in the agency’s history, the SEC said.

Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. Cyril may be reached at [email protected].

© Entire contents copyright 2014 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at [email protected].