Following an election that resulted in narrow Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, it will be difficult for the U.S. Congress to advance major financial-reform legislation. Therefore, the focus this year will be on the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will have a Democratic majority on its five-member panel during the Biden administration, according to panelists on a Feb. 18 InvestmentNews webinar.
“The primary focus of Congress will be to provide political space for [Biden’s] new regulators to operate and to shine a light on the work the SEC and [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] can do to make things better for investors and consumers,” said Maryland Securities Commissioner Melanie Senter Lubin.
Ken Bentsen Jr., chief executive of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America, were the other two panelists on the one-hour webcast.
[Watch: View the entire one-hour webcast]
Among the topics covered in the wide-ranging conversation were:
Canadian stocks are on a roll in 2025 as the country prepares to name a new Prime Minister.
Two C-level leaders reveal the new time-saving tools they've implemented and what advisors are doing with their newly freed-up hours.
The RIA led by Merrill Lynch veteran John Thiel is helping its advisors take part in the growing trend toward fee-based annuities.
Driven by robust transaction activity amid market turbulence and increased focus on billion-dollar plus targets, Echelon Partners expects another all-time high in 2025.
The looming threat of federal funding cuts to state and local governments has lawmakers weighing a levy that was phased out in 1981.
RIAs face rising regulatory pressure in 2025. Forward-looking firms are responding with embedded technology, not more paperwork.
As inheritances are set to reshape client portfolios and next-gen heirs demand digital-first experiences, firms are retooling their wealth tech stacks and succession models in real time.
