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American Securities Association (ASA) today issued the following statement from President and CEO Chris Iacovella on its concerns with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulatory agenda:
“The SEC has a critical three-fold mission: to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. ASA has been supportive of certain aspects of the SEC’s agenda, including addressing issues related to the gamification of trading and the Chinese Communist Party’s exploitation of our capital markets. However, we are concerned that once again the SEC’s agenda does not include any items to promote capital formation for small businesses and companies looking to enter the public markets.
"We are also shocked the SEC has no plans to address the biggest threat facing American investors today: the sweeping collection of every American investor’s personal and financial information by an unsecure, Washington-based database, the so-called Consolidated Audit Trail, which will be an easy target for cybercriminals, hackers, and the CCP. It is inexcusable that this Commission refuses to finalize a rule to protect investors that was proposed in August 2020. ASA will not relent in this effort to protect the privacy rights of the American investing public.”
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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.