July 1, 2009
Sir or Madam,
I am a sole proprietor, Registered Investment Advisor. I have a small practice with no employees.
I manage about $50 million of client investment assets, all with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. as custodian. While I applaud the efforts to increase oversight of the financial services industry, it will be a significant financial burden for me to pay annually for a surprise audit by an independent public accountant. I am not opposed to providing more disclosure to my clients and I know and confirm that Schwab sends reports to all clients for all accounts on a monthly basis.
I have been audited by SEC and Maryland state staff and did not have any issues. I support the SEC’s efforts to increase its staff to allow it to examine more firms more often.
I also support registration and more regulation of hedge funds and other private investment vehicles and firms (partnerships) as well as all brokers who provide investment advisory and account management services.
Thank you for considering my views.
Eric A. Norberg
EAN Equity Financial Services LLC