In an effort to slow the SEC’s effort to create a uniform fiduciary standard for financial advisors authorized but not mandated by Dodd-Frank, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) convened a panel of the Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises to review her proposed legislation. Wagner criticized the SEC’s proposals, stating that a uniform standard would stifle market activity, harm individual investors and impose a new fiduciary obligation on broker dealers while creating confusion in the market. Wagner’s bill would require the SEC to consider the economic effects of a uniform fiduciary standard.
Critics of the bill, which the NAPA Government Affairs Committee does not believe has any significant support in the Senate, warned that the legislation could splinter the enforcement landscape and create scores of legal challenges. Meanwhile, the DOL is moving ahead with its rules on the redefinition of a fiduciary working on ERISA plans and IRAs.
