Senators Unveil Bill to Increase SEC Civil Penalties; House Members Propose Competing Bills to Enhance the SEC's Investment Adviser Oversight

SEC

On July 23, Senators Reed (D-RI) and Grassley (R-IA) unveiled legislation to increase statutory limits on SEC civil monetary penalties to $1 million per violation for individuals, and $10 million per violation for entities. The bill, S. 3416, would also allow for the size of penalties to be linked to the scope of harm and associated investor losses, and provide substantially higher penalties for repeat offenders. The legislation follows a letter SEC Chairman Shapiro sent to Senators Reed and Crapo (R-ID) in November 2011, seeking reforms to the SEC’s authority to impose civil penalties.

On July 24, Representatives Waters (D-CA), Frank (D-MA), and Capuano (D-MA) announced new legislation, H.R. 6204, that would provide the SEC with the authority to impose user fees on investment advisers for the purpose of funding an increase in the number and frequency of SEC examinations. This bill follows an earlier bill from Reps. Bachus (R-AL) and McCarthy (D-NY), H.R. 4624, which also seeks to improve oversight of investment advisers, but through the establishment of self-regulatory organizations overseen by the SEC that investment advisers with retail customers would be required to join.