How Are Capital Markets Regulated?

Regulation should detect, deter and penalize market manipulation and other unfair trading practices. In addition, it should provide investors with fair access to market tools and information on markets or prices.

What are regulators for capital markets?

 In the current structure, no single regulator oversees all the interlocking elements of the capital markets. Instead, there are several regulators with different but sometimes overlapping jurisdictions. And some segments of the markets are only lightly regulated.

There are two types of market regulators: government regulators at the federal and state levels and self-regulatory organizations (SROs), through which industry players govern themselves.

At the federal level, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversees the nation’s securities industry, enforcing laws passed by Congress and its own rules. The SEC also supervises the SROs and has the right to demand changes in their rules.

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates futures markets and certain derivatives and clearing organizations. Its mission is to foster an open, competitive, and financially sound trading environment and protect investors against abusive practices.

Each state also has its own securities regulator to supervise business within its borders and regulate activities outside the SEC’s or CFTC’s scope. These regulators belong to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest industry SRO, oversees brokers, brokerage firms, and investment companies.

The National Futures Association (NFA) is the self-regulator for the derivatives industry, including exchange-traded futures contracts and retail trading in foreign currencies and swaps trading.

How do capital markets regulators work? 

Regulation is a dynamic, evolving system of guidelines and controls, adapting to changes in the market environment and events such as scandals and failures – that reveal vulnerabilities.

Not everyone believes that more regulation is the best solution when things go wrong. Although few people argue for zero government oversight, what’s often debated is precisely how much oversight is the right amount.

Opponents of regulation argue that the markets work best when the government lets them alone – what is sometimes referred to as laissez-faire. From this perspective, government interference increases the cost or difficulty of doing business and stifles innovation. It also prevents ordinary market forces of supply and demand from determining prices and products.

But proponents of government regulation point to the industry’s failure to prevent past problems as the reason to appoint and strengthen third-party watchdogs, especially since the securities markets are so central to the health of the US economy. Moreover, they argue that outside policing is necessary to protect investors, whose interests may conflict with industry interests. They also maintain that government intervention is needed to calm public concerns, especially when the public doesn’t believe the industry can or will resolve its problems.

For example, in response to the credit and banking crisis of 2008 that followed a period of deregulation, Congress passed the far-reaching Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Act imposed new requirements on financial institutions and products, established an independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) within the Federal Reserve System, and sought to create a system to identify and defuse systemic risks to economic stability, among other changes. However, some provisions are still being put into place.

What is considered Shared Responsibility?

In 1996, the National Securities Markets Improvements Act gave federal regulators sole authority to review and register what the Act described as covered securities. This category includes all securities listed on a national securities exchange, mutual funds and other securities issued by a registered investment company, securities sold to accredited purchasers, and securities exempt from registration under Rule 506 of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933. Accredited purchasers are those whose net worth or annual income meets the government’s minimum levels.

On the other hand, states can require the registration of securities that are not defined as covered, all broker-dealers doing business in the state, and registered investment advisers (RIAs) who manage less than $100 million. States also regulate the insurance companies that operate within their borders and the products those companies issue, except products defined as securities, such as variable annuities.

Both federal and state regulators can investigate and prosecute fraud, deceit, and any illegal actions by any issuer, broker-dealer, or adviser. However, in the case of a state, the action must have occurred within its borders.

The Committee’s membership includes thirty-eight leaders drawn from the finance, business, law, accounting, and academic communities. 

Since its foundation in 2006, the Committee has continued developing and promoting policy reform that would enhance American investors’ opportunities and promote real economic growth.

The role of the Committee is to recommend ways in which policy and reform can help create more efficient capital markets and ensure the stability of the financial system.

How Are Capital Markets Regulated? by Inna Rosputnia

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