SEC Needs Budget Boost to Enforce Reg BI: IRI to Senators

What You Need to Know

An annuity industry trade group is urging senators to provide sufficient funding for oversight and enforcement of Reg BI and Form CRS.
The SEC wants to increase the number of examiners overseeing broker-dealers’ compliance.
The SEC on June 16 levied its first Reg BI enforcement action against a registered broker-dealer and five of its registered reps.

The Insured Retirement Institute is urging senators to provide sufficient funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission so that the agency can “effectively oversee” the industry’s ongoing implementation of and compliance with Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS, the Customer Relationship Summary.

The IRI is an advocacy group representing the annuity industry.

In a recent letter to Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Subcommittee on Financial Services & General Government of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Wayne Chopus, IRI’s president and CEO, said that the group supports both regulations, which require broker-dealers and their registered reps “to always act in their clients’ best interest without putting their own interests ahead of their clients.”

The rules, Chopus said, “also ensure that investors have the information they need to make informed decisions when choosing a financial professional and whether to follow investment advice from their chosen advisor.”

The House Appropriations Committee is considering the SEC’s fiscal year 2023 budget this week. The 2023 fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.

The bill includes $2.2 billion, an increase of $207 million — or 8% — above the FY 2022 enacted level, for the SEC to monitor the capital and securities markets, ensure full disclosure of appropriate financial information and combat financial fraud and malpractice.