Sen. Warren Calls on SEC to Investigate Financial Service Providers

Friday, April 01, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Sen. Warren

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting that they open an investigation into whether financial services providers violated securities laws by misleading investors by making contradictory statements about the impacts on their business practices of the Department of Labor's pending Conflict of Interest Rule.

The letter was sent to SEC Chair Mary Jo White.

Read the Letter Here

"Corporate interests have become accustomed to saying whatever they want about Washington policy debates, with little accountability when their predictions prove to be inaccurate. But the information we have obtained raises questions about how, in this specific case, the companies could have knowingly provided such dramatically different public statements about the impact of the DOL Conflict of Interest Rule - in one example, saying almost simultaneously that the rule would be 'unworkable' and that the rule would not be 'a significant hurdle' - without misleading investors," said Warren.

Last month, Warren and Rep. Elijah Cummings cents a letter detailing the industry's contradictory statements to Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez and Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan to help inform their work on the Conflict of Interest Rule.

Warren added, the conflicting statements by corporate officials raise significant questions about whether they or their companies may have violated the securities laws. As these companies acknowledge in their own public statements, the outcome of the DOL Conflict of lnterest Rule - which will govern how they sell and invest trillions of dollars of retirement funds - is a material concern."