Now might be the right time to push for change. The SEC’s division of investment management, which approves ETFs, has a new leader after David Grim stepped down last month following 22 years at the Commission. Dalia Blass, a former member of the division who left for law firm Ropes & Gray in 2016, has taken over.
Europe’s ETF industry is also poised for growth thanks to a new rule, known as MiFID II, that challenges pay-to-play advisory models and makes trading more transparent. Some of the estimated $600 billion of foreign money invested in U.S. ETFs could return home as a result, upping the stakes for the American industry.
“We’re hopeful that we can get on the agenda for clarification and simplification for plain-vanilla ETFs,” said Wiedman. “Our biggest challenge is less about receptiveness, it’s that the SEC has many things to do.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.