Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said Friday that the agency will turn its attention to crafting a fiduciary duty rule for brokers, harmonization of advisor and broker rules, as well as revisions to mutual fund distribution fees under rule 12b-1 after July 21, the date marking the one-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Schapiro, speaking at the Investment Company Institute’s (ICI) annual conference in Washington, said that the SEC will focus on regulatory changes concerning mutual funds, particularly 12b-1 fee reform, “in tandem” with the investment advisor/broker dealer reform issues.
The SEC received more than 2,400 comments on its proposed revisions to Rule 12b-1, which Schapiro said raised “some important issues regarding 401(k) plans, disclosure issues, and creat[ing] competitive pricing that benefits investors.”