B-D exemption ruling stay filed with court

The SEC wants to give brokerages until Oct. 1 to transition fee-based brokerage assets into alternative accounts.

The SEC wants to give brokerages until Oct. 1 to transition fee-based brokerage assets into alternative accounts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in March threw out an SEC rule that exempted the accounts from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
The court was set to implement the decision next Monday.
As a result, the industry was facing an immediate need to move fee-based brokerage accounts into other programs.
The SEC said in a motion filed yesterday that extra time was needed “for customers and brokers to discuss, make, and implement informed decisions.”
The agency said even more time might be needed “as investors and brokers identify issues from engaging in the [transition] process.”
The Financial Planning Association of Denver, which brought the original challenge to the rule, hasn’t yet decided whether to oppose the motion, said Merril Hirsh, with Ross Dixon & Bell LLP in Washington,
LLP in Washington, which represents the FPA.
The SEC rule at issue is sometimes referred to as the Merrill Rule or SEC Rule 202.