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WASHINGTON, DC - American Securities Association (ASA) today issued the following statement from President & CEO Chris Iacovella on today’s rulemakings by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):
“We don’t see the need to mandate uniform disclosures that are already required to be disclosed under today’s standard of materiality. These rules will impose more unnecessary burdens on public companies who are already doing their best to protect their businesses from hackers and cybercriminals,” said American Securities Association President & CEO Chris Iacovella. “We look forward to reviewing the conflict-of-interest proposal related to the use of predictive data analytics by investment professionals and we hope the SEC is using it to apply the law equally to any person or algorithm that provides investment advice to a customer.”
On the Agency’s Cybersecurity Risk Management Proposal, ASA submitted comments in June raising concerns regarding the SEC’s push to adopt costly, uniform mandates related to cybersecurity and cyber incidents. Equally concerning, the SEC has failed to address the biggest cybersecurity threat facing investors today: The vast collection and storage of American investors financial and personal information in an unsecure, centralized database. ASA has been at the forefront of investor protection advocacy, supporting the bicameral introduction of the Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act to stop the CAT from collecting American investors’ personal and financial data.
On the SEC’s Request for Information and Comments on Broker-Dealer and Investment Adviser Digital Engagement Practices, Related Tools and Methods, ASA submitted comments in September of 2021 noting the important role the SEC plays in protecting investors from the gamification of digital trading applications. The issues raised by the meme stock trading frenzy of 2021 and the increasing use of digital trading applications are complex and interrelated. ASA believes it’s critical to increase investor protection and the safety and soundness of U.S. capital markets and will review the proposal through this lens.
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About the American Securities Association
American Securities Association, based in Washington, DC, represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.