David S. Massey, President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), has issued a statement concurring with the recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its report, "Regulatory Coverage Generally Exists for Financial Planners, but Consumer Protection Issues Remain."
“The GAO concluded that a new layer of regulation is not needed for financial planners, since they are already subject to regulation by state securities, insurance or banking regulators. We agree and also concur with the GAO’s recommendation that the SEC and state regulators work together on financial planning issues involving investment advisers,” Massey said in a news release yesterday following the GAO's issuance of the report.
Section 919C(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Act) required the Comptroller General to conduct a study evaluating the effectiveness of existing laws and regulations designed to protect investors and other consumers from individuals holding themselves out as financial planners through misleading titles, designations or marketing materials. The Act mandated that the study consider current state and federal oversight of financial planners and identify any legal or regulatory gaps in the structures governing financial planners and others providing consumers with financial planning services. The report was required within 180 days after the date of the Act's enactment.