Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton announced today that an additional investor roundtable to discuss the Commission’s recently proposed rules regarding the obligations of financial professionals to investors will be held in Baltimore on the evening of Sept. 20, 2018.  Commissioners Kara Stein and Robert Jackson are expected to join Chairman Clayton and senior SEC staff at this event.

Six roundtable discussions already have taken place in Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Denver.  In these roundtables, Main Street investors have had the opportunity to speak directly with Chairman Clayton and senior staff about the SEC’s efforts to enhance retail investor protection and promote choice and access to a variety of investment services and products.  

“These investor roundtables have been incredibly valuable, and I have enjoyed engaging directly with our Main Street investors.  It is important to me that we hear retail investors’ perspectives on how our proposed rules can better align standards of conduct with what they expect of their investment professionals,” said Chairman Clayton.  “We have had many insightful discussions and received some great ideas.  I look forward to speaking with more investors in Baltimore about their experiences.”

Chairman Clayton also today issued a statement discussing his impressions from the earlier investor roundtables.  Investors who have not been able to attend one of the roundtables in-person are invited to share their insights with the SEC by going to www.sec.gov/Tell-Us.

Details about the upcoming investor roundtable in Baltimore can be found below. The event is free and open to the public and the media. Participants should be retail investors who work with, or are considering working with, a financial professional and have no affiliation with the financial services industry.  Please note that the number of participants will be limited.

Location: The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, 830 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202

Date: Sept. 20, 2018

Time: 6:00-7:30 p.m. (ET)

RSVP: outreach@sec.gov

Background

On April 18, 2018, the Commission voted to propose a package of rulemakings and interpretations designed to enhance the quality and transparency of investors’ relationships with investment advisers and broker-dealers while preserving access to a variety of types of advice relationships and investment products.  For additional information, see the Commission’s press release, fact sheet and proposed Regulation Best Interest rule here.

On April 24, 2018, Chairman Clayton issued a statement announcing that he had asked SEC staff to put together a series of roundtables focused on the retail investor to be held in different cities across the country.  The roundtables are intended to gather information directly from those investors most affected by the Commission’s rulemaking.

On June 29, 2018, Chairman Clayton issued a press release inviting Main Street investors to ‘Tell Us’ about their investor experience and providing details on the initial series of roundtables.  Transcripts of the prior roundtables are available in the comment file.

For general information about the investor roundtables, contact Suzanne McGovern from the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy at: outreach@sec.gov