SEC Panel Calls for Tighter Limits on RIAs' Mandatory Arbitration Clauses
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
AdvisorHub reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee has finalized a recommendation urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to rein in the use of mandatory arbitration clauses by registered investment advisers (“RIA”s). After raising concerns over two years ago, the committee voted to formally advise the SEC to improve fairness and transparency in how customer disputes are handled.
The recommendation outlines four key actions. First, the SEC should align arbitration standards for RIAs with existing Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules governing broker-dealers. Those rules prohibit class action waivers and require arbitration hearings to take place near the client’s residence.
Second, RIAs should notify clients of any mandatory arbitration clauses and disclose arbitration outcomes. The committee also called for a requirement that RIAs include arbitration provisions within their Form ADV disclosures. Third, the SEC should establish a publicly accessible, searchable database of arbitration awards for RIAs, similar to FINRA’s existing arbitration records and BrokerCheck disclosures for broker-dealers.
Finally, the committee urged the SEC to investigate RIA arbitration practices further and produce educational resources to help investors understand arbitration procedures and identify key questions to raise with their advisers.
As reported by AdvisorHub, the recommendations follow a 2023 study examining 579 advisory agreements. The findings revealed that 61 percent contained mandatory arbitration clauses, with several including troubling provisions — such as requiring customers to bear arbitration costs, limiting potential damages, or restricting types of claims. Notably, 97 percent of these agreements failed to factor in the client’s location when selecting hearing venues.
Although the Investor Advisory Committee does not set regulatory policy, it made clear that applying consistent arbitration protections across both investment advisers and brokerage firms aligns with an adviser’s fiduciary duty to act in the client’s best interest, according to AdvisorHub.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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