Indy B-Ds to Schapiro: Talk to us

Executives with independent broker-dealers are keen to give counsel to new SEC head Mary Schapiro.

Executives with independent broker-dealers are keen to give counsel to new SEC head Mary Schapiro.
In a panel titled, “Critical Regulatory Issues Facing Independent Broker-Dealers” at the Atlanta-based Financial Services Institute Inc.’s annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, today, executives addressed what they would like to see emerge from Ms. Schapiro’s first three to four months as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ms. Schapiro should involve the industry in “looking at the whole regulatory regime,” said Brian Murphy, executive vice president with Hartford Life Insurance Co. Inc. in Simsbury, Conn.
“Involve us early. That’s one [idea] I have not seen yet.”
The key message to Ms. Schapiro, he added, is “to seek to do no harm.”
Regulators cannot resolve problems in the securities industry by telling broker-dealers and reps that they will police them in the extreme, Mr. Murphy said.
The discussion comes as lawmakers, regulators and executives consider the future of a consolidated regulator for the financial advice industry — from commission brokers to fee advisers.
The SEC, however, has a history of deep suspicion of the securities industry working with self-regulators such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. of New York and Washington, said Dale Brown, president and chief executive of FSI.
“We have to get past that suspicion,” he said.