The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), along with the SIFMA Asset Management Group are among 26 associations urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) not to adopt the proposed safeguarding advisory client rule.
The trade associations contend that the proposal adversely affects the market participants by creating requirements that are duplicative and inconsistent with existing safeguards enforced by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), federal banking agencies, and state insurance regulators.
“We support the Commission’s goal of ensuring high levels of investor protection, including the safety of client assets from potential misuse or loss. However, in its current form, the proposal is in conflict with that goal as it will result in a myriad of negative impacts on investors including their access to various assets and markets with well-established rules and procedures,” the organizations wrote in the letter. “As such, we strongly urge the Commission not to adopt the proposal in its current form,” the organizations wrote in a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Along with SIFMA and SIFMA Asset Management Group, the letter was signed by ABA Securities Association, American Bankers Association, Alternative Investment Management Association, American Council of Life Insurers, Association for Financial Markets in Europe, Bank Policy Institute, Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, Committee of Annuity Insurers, Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, Commodity Market Council, Financial Services Forum, Financial Services Institute, Futures Industry Association, Institute for Portfolio Alternatives, Insured Retirement Institute, International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Investment Company Institute, Loan Syndications and Trading Association, Managed Funds Association, Money Management Institute, NAREIT, National Society of Compliance Professionals, the Real Estate Roundtable, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.