June 07, 2019

Brown To SEC: Put Investors First

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs – released the following statement on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) final rule and interpretations issued this week on the standards of conduct for investment advisers and broker-dealers. This rule weakens investor protection and allows Wall Street to continue gaming the system at the expense of Americans saving and investing for their futures.
 
“Protecting Americans hard-earned savings begins with a simple concept: investment professionals must put clients first. That’s what Congress intended and that’s what investors deserve. Instead the SEC’s new rule is a confusing, jargon-filled document that will keep armies of lawyers employed but is of no help to retirees and other investors,” said Brown.  “By failing to set a clear fiduciary standard that requires brokers to eliminate conflicts with their clients, the SEC is telling investors they are on their own to make sense of confusing legal standards, while brokers can hide behind a rule that takes over 700 pages to explain and that is unacceptable.”
 
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