The Investment Company Institute said that “now, more than ever, it is essential that the SEC be provided with the funding and staffing it needs … to fulfill its mission of protecting the nation’s investors.”
The ICI’s views on funding the Securities and Exchange Commission were contained in testimony it submitted to the House Appropriations Committee, which is holding a hearing on the SEC’s FY 2005 budget.
The ICI has called for enhanced funding and staffing increases for the SEC repeatedly over the last decade, and views such support as essential if the SEC is to fulfill its statutory mission.
The ICI’s statement fully supports the Administration’s FY 2005 budget request for the SEC of $913 million, “which is a significant and necessary increase over the record amount appropriated for the current fiscal year.”
In particular, the Institute urged Congress to recognize the importance of providing the SEC with the resources needed to “develop appropriate responses to address recent trading abuses that have occurred within the fund industry.”
Increased funding is also essential, according to the ICI, if the SEC is to successfully launch its new Office of Risk Assessment, an important initiative that would focus on the early identification of new or resurgent forms of fraudulent, illegal or questionable behavior.
Finally, the Institute said increased funding was required to support the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations which has played a critical role in investigating and identifying trading abuses involving mutual funds.