Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph asked Congress on Thursday to consider expanding authority of state securities regulators over investment advisers, saying the Bernie Madoff case illustrates “the horrific consequences” of fraud gone unchecked.
“It’s imperative that our system of financial services regulation be improved to better protect investors, markets and the economy as a whole,” Joseph testified at a U.S. Senate banking committee hearing, left, with Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Schapiro. “Our proximity to individual investors puts us in the best position, among all law enforcement officials, to deal aggressively with securities-law violations.”
Joseph, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, also suggested that the SEC expand the class of investment advisers subject to state securities regulation and increase the states’ enforcement authority over large investment advisers. And he expressed support for comprehensive regulation of derivatives and hedge funds, among other investments.
