Perceiving that his mission has little to no chance of succeeding, FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum admitted to the Wall Street Journal April 10 that he is backing off his quest to oversee RIAs. His group, responsible for examining broker dealers, is able to review a much greater percentage of their members than their counterparts at the SEC who examine RIAs. The SEC’s budget request to hire more examiners is still pending. Meanwhile, we assume that fi360’s offer to help the SEC examine firms is still open.
On a separate note, Ketchum reiterated his support for extending a fiduciary standard to brokers, commenting, "I have tried to say consistently for years that a consistent standard that requires firms to operate in the best interest of customers is both culturally and legal the right standard. It should exist for broker-dealers and investment advisers."
