Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton told lawmakers today that the SEC is increasing its focus on investment advisors, broker-dealers and their standards of conduct -- with potential new standards and a 30 percent increase in regulatory examinations scheduled in 2017.
In his first appearance before the U.S. House Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, Clayton said, “Main Street investors should have access to high-quality, affordable investment advice and a diverse range of investment products without sacrificing the protections of the securities laws.”
To keep pace with the explosive growth in investment advisory assets -- which have tripled to $70 trillion since 2001 -- the SEC is doubling down on examinations, Clayton told lawmakers, reassigning approximately 100 staff to the SEC’s investment advisor unit. The additional staffing, streamlined procedures and technology is putting the SEC is on track to deliver a 30 percent increase in the number of investment advisor examinations this fiscal year – to approximately 15 percent of all investment advisors, he said.