[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2141 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2141

To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to extend a no-action 
determination relating to the provision of research services by broker-
                    dealers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2023

   Mr. Moran introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to extend a no-action 
determination relating to the provision of research services by broker-
                    dealers, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Increasing Access to Adviser 
Information Act''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF NO-ACTION DETERMINATION; STUDY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2017, staff of the Securities and Exchange 
        Commission (referred to in this section as the ``Commission'') 
        first granted temporary no-action relief regarding compliance 
        with the provisions related to research in the Markets in 
        Financial Instruments Directive II (commonly referred to as 
        ``MiFID II'') and related implementing rules and regulations, 
        before the implementation of European rules designed to protect 
        European investors from excessive costs and conflicts of 
        interest.
            (2) Staff of the Commission did not engage in any 
        meaningful cost-benefit analysis of the issues raised by the 
        no-action relief described in paragraph (1) either before or 
        after the granting of that relief.
            (3) In 2019, staff of the Commission revised and extended 
        the temporary no-action relief described in paragraph (1), 
        again without any meaningful cost-benefit analysis of the 
        issues raised by the no-action relief either before or after 
        the granting of that relief.
            (4) As of the date of enactment of this Act, there are 
        approximately 15,300 registered investment advisers, including 
        affiliates that provide the vast majority of investment 
        research.
            (5) The Commission has received complaints from investors 
        and investor advocacy groups expressing concerns with the no-
        action relief described in paragraph (1), as it exists on the 
        date of enactment of this Act.
            (6) The Commission has received concerns from broker-
        dealers relating to the potential expiration of the no-action 
        relief described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Extension of No-Action Determination.--The Commission shall 
provide an additional 180-day extension of the no-action determination 
described in the letter sent on November 4, 2019, from the Chief 
Counsel's Office of the Division of Investment Management of the 
Commission to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets 
Association, entitled ``Investment Advisers Act of 1940--Section 
202(a)(11)'' (referred to in this section as the ``no-action 
determination''), set to expire on July 3, 2023.
    (c) Study Required.--
            (1) In general.--After the announcement of the extension, 
        pursuant to subsection (b), of the expiration date of the no-
        action determination, the Commission shall--
                    (A) after providing notice and the opportunity for 
                comment, conduct a study of the impact of allowing the 
                no-action determination to expire or of maintaining the 
                no-action determination; and
                    (B) in carrying out the study required under 
                subparagraph (A), give due regard to any comments 
                received under that subparagraph.
            (2) Contents.--The study required under paragraph (1) shall 
        include potential impacts on the research market for smaller 
        issuers, including the following:
                    (A) The availability of that research, including--
                            (i) the number and types of firms that 
                        provide that research;
                            (ii) the volume of that research over time; 
                        and
                            (iii) competition in the research market.
                    (B) Any unique challenges faced by minority-owned, 
                women-owned, or veteran-owned small issuers in 
                obtaining research coverage.
                    (C) The impact on the availability of research 
                coverage for small issuers due to rules of the 
                Commission.
                    (D) A cost-benefit analysis of regulatory options 
                that will support research coverage of small entities 
                and increase transparency in the cost of research 
                provided by broker-dealers.
                    (E) Impacts of the no-action determination on--
                            (i) investors in--
                                    (I) registered investment companies 
                                and exempt investment funds;
                                    (II) pension funds; and
                                    (III) endowments;
                            (ii) other asset owners;
                            (iii) investment advisers;
                            (iv) broker-dealers that provide both 
                        investment research and trading services;
                            (v) independent investment advisers that do 
                        not provide trading services;
                            (vi) broker-dealers that do not provide 
                        investment research; and
                            (vii) other market participants, including 
                        issuers of securities.
                    (F) Potential impacts of the expiration of the no-
                action determination on the parties described in 
                subparagraph (E).
            (3) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Commission, or delegated staff of 
        the Commission, shall submit to the Committee on Banking, 
        Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report 
        containing the findings and conclusions from the study 
        conducted under this subsection, including findings relating to 
        the expiration of the no-action determination.
                                 <all>