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WASHINGTON, DC – The American Securities Association (ASA) today issued the following statement in support of the litigation brought by National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPRR) and Erik Davidson and John Restivo challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) use of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) to collect the personal and financial information of American retail investors.
“The SEC CAT surveillance scheme is an unconstitutional and unprecedented government attack on the civil liberties of every American investor. ASA strongly supports today’s challenge to the constitutionality of the CAT and the threat it poses to Americans’ privacy rights and civil liberties,” said ASA President & CEO Chris Iacovella. “For years, ASA has raised concerns about the SEC’s disregard for the Constitution. If the administrative state can collect the personal and financial information of Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, then the Constitution will no longer limit the power of government.”
ASA has, for years, been a leading advocate against the CAT and its collection of the personal and financial information of every American investor.
In March 2024, ASA President & CEO Chris Iacovella penned an op-ed in The Washington Times warning of the CAT’s direct assault on Americans’ privacy rights.
In September 2023, ASA Board Members Warren Stephens, Chairman & CEO of Stephens, and Paul C. Reilly, Chairman of Raymond James, wrote an opinion in the Wall Street Journal expressing concerns about the CAT and its collection of the personal and financial information of every American investor.
Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr published an opinion in the Wall Street Journal drawing attention to the SEC’s Consolidated Audit Trail, specifically how it violates fundamental privacy rights and protections.
In 2023, ASA and Citadel Securities jointly challenged the SEC’s CAT in the Eleventh Circuit in response to widespread investor concerns about transparency, governance, costs, and data privacy.
In September 2023, ASA issued a statement about the SEC’s adoption of the CAT funding model. ASA also submitted a comment letter to the SEC on the Proposed Order.
ASA applauded the bicameral introduction of legislation protecting the privacy rights of American investors, as well as an Attorneys General letter to Congress urging the protection of investor privacy. Throughout the 118th Congress, ASA has worked with Members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee to advocate for the removal of personal and financial information from the CAT.
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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.