House Financial Services Committee

• ‘Harmonizing’ DOL, SEC Fiduciary Rules Is Too Tough: fi360

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  September 25, 2012

  Fi360 told members of Congress recently that asking the DOL and the SEC to “harmonize” their fiduciary rules would create “significant challenges.”

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  How the Election Will Shape Regulatory Policies for Advisors

  By David Tittsworth, IAA  |  September 20, 2012

  The president appoints the people who will make the most important decisions on regulatory policy that affect your profession. First up on our list of potential changes: Treasury.

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  Harmonizing DOL, SEC Fiduciary Rules Forces a Stark Choice, fi360 Warns Lawmakers

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  August 27, 2012

  Harmonizing the two rules, fi360 says, would require the SEC to toughen its rules or the DOL to relax them, violating ERISA requirements and weakening protections for retirement plan participants.

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  Dodd-Frank: Here to Stay

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  August 21, 2012

  If Republicans “run the table in this year’s elections, it is certainly possible that some of the more controversial provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act may be revisited,” said David Tittsworth, executive director of the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) in Washington.

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  Remedy to Boost Advisor Exams Out of Reach This Year

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  August 21, 2012

  Two important issues for the advisory industry will remain unresolved until next year: how to boost investment advisor exams—either through a self-regulatory organization (SRO) or via user fees—as well as a rule to put brokers under a fiduciary mandate.

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  A Chat With CFP Board CEO Kevin Keller: Fiduciary, SRO and His Priorities

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  August 21, 2012

  Providing the SEC with the resources it needs “is the best solution" to the advisor exam problem, says Kevin Keller, but finding a way to ensure advisors face more exam scrutiny—through an SRO or user fees paid to the SEC—will be a “long-term issue.”

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  FINRA at 5 Years: Highlighting 7 Areas of Action

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  August 9, 2012

  Quite a bit has happened in those five years: billion-dollar frauds, a flash crash exposing major volatility issues and a bill supporting FINRA as advisors' SRO, to name a few developments.

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  Geithner: Europe Crisis Is Biggest Threat to U.S. Economy

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  July 25, 2012

  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner discussed with lawmakers on Wednesday a number of issues, from the success of financial reform to the European crisis to the SEC's attempt to overhaul money-market funds.

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  Fate of Dodd-Frank Likely Rests in Election Results

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  July 18, 2012

  With the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act on July 21, industry officials are weighing in on the law’s progress.

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  Dodd-Frank Should Not Be Repealed: House Hearing Consensus

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  July 10, 2012

  While they had many complaints about the Dodd-Frank Act, all of the financial services representatives testifying at a House Financial Services hearing stopped short of saying the law needs to be repealed.