Critics said the SEC launched the share-class initiative without explaining to firms the disclosure rubric. They assert that the SEC changed its expectations without providing a chance for public comment — in other words, the SEC was engaging in rule-making by enforcement.
But Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC Enforcement Division, said the industry should have known from previous enforcement cases as well as the fiduciary requirements for advisers that not disclosing 12b-1 fees was a violation.
“I’m a little bit perplexed by some of the criticism,” Mr. Peikin said at the Securities Enforcement Forum in Washington. “I don’t feel like you need the SEC to tell you that as a fiduciary that’s something you shouldn’t be doing.
via SEC official pushes back against criticism of share-class crackdown.
