The Investment Adviser Association is urging the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to “carve back” its recently released proposal to extend anti-money laundering regulations to all SEC-registered investment advisors.
IAA also wants a range of exemptions for advisors and advisory services that the IAA says do not raise money-laundering risks.
“FinCEN’s expansive proposal is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature and scope of the services advisors provide,” said IAA General Counsel Bob Grohowski. “As a result, many of the proposal’s provisions would impose compliance burdens on advisors that are unnecessary, duplicative and costly – while contributing little to FinCEN’s AML regime.”
In a Nov. 2 comment letter, IAA said it objects to the proposal’s expansive scope, which would apply AML requirements to all SEC-registered investment advisors regardless of the nature of their clients or the advisory services they provide.