New legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, would allow the SEC to collect user fees on investment advisers to fund a more robust investment adviser oversight program. In introducing the Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R. 1627), Ranking Member Waters said that the legislation “answers a funding gap which has been largely responsible for the infrequency of investment adviser exams” and is a simple and direct method to improve the “quality and quantity” of the exams.
The bill follows former SEC Chairman Elisse Walter’s recent remarks that the SEC needs significantly more resources to oversee advisers. A longtime proponent of a self-regulatory organization (SRO), she said she would be open to increasing the SEC budget, allowing the SEC to charge advisers’ user fees for exams, or creating an SRO.