WASHINGTON, D.C.—Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy, issued the following statement in connection with Better Markets’ new Fact Sheet, “To Protect Investors and Markets, the SEC Must Finish What It Started”:
“Since Chair Gensler arrived at the SEC on April 17, 2021, the agency has finalized almost 40 rules in an effort to address the key issues currently facing investors, markets, and capital formation. Now, with just months to go in President Biden’s term, it’s imperative for the SEC to also finalize a number of the rules that remain outstanding on its regulatory agenda. Specifically, the SEC should finalize (1) the ESG disclosure rule, (2) Regulation Best Execution and the amendments to Regulation NMS, (3) the Predictive Data Analytics rule, (4) the Volume-Based Pricing rule, and (5) the amendments to the definition of an exchange.
“Although the substance of these rules varies, they are all important because they are designed to better protect investors, make the markets fairer and more transparent, facilitate capital formation, and reduce systemic risks that could contribute to financial crashes. Our securities markets are constantly evolving, and the rules that govern those markets must evolve too. Otherwise, Wall Street will profit while Main Street gets left behind. That is what is at stake in the last six months of 2024. The SEC needs to finalize rules that will provide investors with the information that they need to make investment decisions, mandate that investors receive the proper prices for their securities, and protect investors from the risks of artificial intelligence, a lack of competition among exchanges and brokers, and trading platforms that function as exchanges but are not regulated as exchanges.
“The SEC has the statutory authority to adopt these rules. Indeed, these rules are at the core of why the SEC exists—to ensure the disclosure of material information, enhance market efficiency, and regulate the conduct of brokers and exchanges. As a result, the SEC should finalize these rules as quickly as possible for the benefit of investors and the markets.”
You can find the fact sheet here.
###
Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
