Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, SEC NEWS AND SPEECHES—Plans for uniform fiduciary duty, other rulemaking revealed, (May 20, 2016)
The SEC plans an April 2017 unveiling of a proposed uniform fiduciary duty for broker-dealers and investment advisers, according to the recently updated unified agenda maintained by the Office of Management and Budget. The agency’s spring 2016 rule list, which contains 66 total entries, also includes new entries for rulemaking addressing a Form 10-K summary page, revisions to definitions related to smaller reporting companies, disclosures of corporate board diversity, and third party compliance assessment of investment advisers.
The agenda is only a projection of the SEC’s schedule, and the agency is no stranger to missed deadlines, but the recent approval of two new SEC commissioners by the Senate Banking Committee moves the agency one step closer to a full slate, and presumably toward a steadier rulemaking pace.
New agenda items. One of the new entries related to mandated rulemaking under the FAST Act. Section 72001 of the Act required the SEC to issue regulations to permit issuers to submit a summary page on Form 10-K, as long as the summary cross references or links to the material contained in Form 10-K to which the item relates (RIN: 3235-AL89). A new entry is listed for revisions to the smaller reporting company definitions and related provisions (RIN: 3235AL90). Another new entry addressed potential proposed amendments to the proxy rules to require additional disclosure about the diversity of boards and nominees (RIN: 3235-AL91). Another entry listed as under consideration a rule that will establish a program of third-party compliance assessment for registered investment advisers (RIN: 3235-AL92).
Fiduciary entry. The fiduciary rulemaking agenda item is listed under RIN: 3235AL27. The SEC, acting under authority provided by Dodd-Frank Section 913, issued a request for data on the duties of brokers, dealers, and investment advisers in March of 2013 to kick off its inquiry into the subject. The Department of Labor, in the meantime, finalized its rule installing a fiduciary standard for ERISA plan advisers in April 2016. Substantial questions remain about how the DOL and the SEC will coordinate efforts and avoid regulatory overlap.
RegulatoryActivity: BrokerDealers CorporateGovernance DirectorsOfficers InvestmentAdvisers PublicCompanyReportingDisclosure SECNewsSpeeches