WASHINGTON (April 19, 2013) – The following is a statement from Heath Abshure, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and Arkansas Securities Commissioner, regarding the ‘‘Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2013,” introduced today by House Financial Services Committee Ranking Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. John Delaney (D-MD). The legislation would amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to provide the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the authority to impose and collect user fees on investment advisers for the purpose of increasing the number and frequency of SEC examinations.
“State securities regulators strongly support Congressional efforts to improve the oversight of federally registered investment advisers by acting on a recommendation of the Dodd-Frank Act and establishing a dedicated funding mechanism to ensure the that SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspections, and Examination’s resources are aligned with its examination responsibilities.
“State securities regulators and the investment adviser industry agree that authorizing the SEC to collect ‘user fees’ from the investment advisers it examines is the most effective and efficient way to provide for more robust oversight of federally registered investment advisers.
“NASAA commends Representatives Waters and Delaney for their leadership in this area, and hopes that other members of Congress who have been vocal in their support of policies to strengthen investor protection will lend their support to the Waters-Delaney bill.
“Revenue from the user fees contemplated by the Waters-Delaney bill would be available to the SEC only to fund additional examinations of investment advisers, and not to subsidize other functions of the Commission. The proposed bill is highly cost-effective not only from the perspective of the government, but also from that of the investment adviser industry.
“As a matter of efficiency and cost, authorizing the SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspections, and Examinations to fund enhanced oversight of federally registered investment advisers through user fees makes more sense than establishing a new SRO for investment advisers.
“The Waters-Delaney bill, which is supported by the investment adviser industry, and by investor protection advocates, answers the Dodd-Frank Act’s call for enhanced oversight of federally registered investment advisers and avoids doing so at taxpayers’ expense.”
Download: NASAA Letter of Support for Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2013
For More Information:
Bob Webster | Director of Communications
202-737-0900
