Today, the D.C. Circuit invalidated an exemption that the Securities and Exchange Commission granted by rule to securities brokers and dealers from the Investment Advisors Act. The IAA itself exempts broker-dealers only to the extent that they give advice "solely incidental to [their] business as a broker or dealer" and "receive[] no special compensation therefor." The SEC’s exemption, the court held, wrote the "no special compensation" requirement out of the statute and, therefore, exceeded the agency’s authority. One judge dissented. Financial Planning Ass’n v. SEC, No. 04-1242 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 30, 2007).
Barry Barnett
