SEC Issues Statement on Complex Products
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released a Joint Statement from Chairman Jay Clayton as well as the directors of three SEC divisions, which provided guidance regarding complex financial products and retail investors. The complex products addressed in this statement include “leveraged/inverse” products. The SEC found that complex products create investor protection issues, especially for retail investors who do not understand the characteristics and risks of complex products.
The SEC’s Joint Statement described the regulatory requirements that govern complex products. The SEC emphasized that the regulatory requirements for complex products depended largely on the structure of the product. While some complex products, such as exchange-traded funds, are regulated by the Investment Company Act, other complex products, such as exchange-traded notes, are not. It was noted in the Joint Statement that retail investors may not understand that the structure of the product impacts the investor protection associated with that product.
The SEC also expressed concern that retail investors do not understand how complex investments operate and the risks these products carry. Those concerns are exacerbated when the market experiences increased stress, with the SEC highlighting significant losses for complex products as a result of the market volatility caused by COVID-19. The SEC’s further expressed concern that even some financial professionals may not understand the characteristics and risk of certain complex products.
Tags: eccleston, SEC, statement, complex product