NASAA prez worried about small investors

Karen Tyler, incoming president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, is warning Wall Street not to abandon the small investor.
Smaller clients seeking advice “should have more available to them than a computerized voice … or a salesperson pushing a high-fee, high-commission product,” Ms. Tyler said in her inaugural speech at NASAA’s annual convention this week in Seattle.
Ms. Tyler, commissioner of the North Dakota securities department in Bismarck, said investors need advice more than ever.
“It’s imperative that the securities industry stay focused on delivering services to the retail market,” including small investors, said Ms. Tyler, in an interview.
She added that NASAA is worried that the industry is taking resources away from serving smaller clients.
NASAA has no specific initiatives regarding access to advice by small investors, Ms. Tyler said. The group, which represents state and provincial regulators, is “just creating a dialog,” she said.
Ms. Tyler said she has spoken to several firms about the challenges in serving small investors. She declined to name those firms.
Individual advisers often complain that regulatory burdens have made dealing with smaller investors uneconomic.
But Ms. Tyler called that argument a “convenient response.”
She said the industry has not shown that it can’t afford to handle small investors, and that technological improvements have streamlined the business.

Related Topics: North American Securities Administrators Association Inc (NASAA)