Customer Relationship Summaries, also known as Form CRS, are a key accompaniment to the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI, which governs the standard of conduct for broker/dealers. As of last year, broker/dealers, Registered Investment Advisors, and dually registered firms must provide each client, or prospective client, with the firm’s Form CRS.
In 2020, the SEC took steps to advance both investor choice and investor protection. Now, the new SEC chair will have to determine if the former has gone too far in hindering the latter.
The proposed rule comment period closed yesterday, and if the DOL is seeking to finalize ahead of the November elections, it is unlikely to make substantive changes in response to comment.
Though this timeline will be a challenge for the industry, we agree with the SEC’s decision.
The SEC's regulation could give some firms a way to set themselves apart from the rest.
A closer look at what we expect from compliance with the final rule.
In recent years, investors have increasingly purchased mutual funds through new share classes that jettison two traditional sources of potential conflicts of interest: explicit fees for distribution and front-end loads that are shared back with brokers.
Conflicts of interest can arise when financial advisors and brokers have a financial incentive to recommend certain products to investors. Identifying the effects and quantifying the costs of conflicted advice is a challenge for researchers and regulators alike.
