Investors are "unacceptably confused" by the various
titles used by securities professionals so the Securities and Exchange Commission must clarify the distinctions.
That was the recent comment of Barbara Roper,
director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America
(CFA).
"The SEC has failed to define the distinction
between advisors and brokers. The commission has some unfinished
business," Roper told the New York Stock Exchange Regulation's First
Annual Securities Conference recently.
"We hope that the commission will recognize that
this just can't be allowed to continue," she told a panel on rebuilding
ethics and compliance standards in the securities industry.
Roper also complained about registered reps
receiving higher payouts for proprietary products. She suggested that
the SEC should ban the practice just as the commission had recently
ended directed brokerage.
She added that requiring more disclosure of bigger
proprietary payouts at the point of sale is not a recommended step.
This kind of reform would be "just too complex," she said. The SEC
should take steps now on title clarifications and proprietary payout
standards before there is another scandal in the securities industry,
Roper warned.