The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has unveiled a survey of 1,000 investing adults, finding that fully 92 percent of investors queried agreed to some degree that “it is important to have a regulatory ‘cop on the beat’ to protect investors and police the markets.”
Specifically, 62 percent of survey respondents strongly agreed with that proposition and 30 percent somewhat agreed, according to FINRA.
In addition, “70 percent of investors surveyed strongly agreed and 24 percent of investors somewhat agreed that it is important that regulators use the latest tools and technology to protect investors,” FINRA says. Other survey findings include the following:
- 88 percent of investors believe it is “moderately or very important for regulators to detect when unsuitable securities are being sold to investors;”
- 90 percent believe it is “moderately or very important for regulators to detect when brokers are making trades that benefit themselves and not the investor;”
- 89 percent believe it is “moderately or very important for regulators to detect when firms are taking risks that potentially harm their investors and the financial system.”
And finally, “nearly three quarters of investors surveyed (74 percent) would support additional regulatory protections to safeguard them from misconduct by brokers or brokerage firms. Support was strong across age groups and investment levels. In addition, only one in five of those surveyed (22 percent) expressed opposition to additional protections if it meant a minimal increase in the costs that brokerage firms passed on to them. By comparison, 56 percent of those surveyed expressed support for additional protections even if it meant a minimal increase in their costs,” the survey found.
The survey, FINRA notes, was limited to “U.S. adults ages 21 or older, having primary or shared responsibility in their household for investment decisions. Although the cut-off for inclusion was at least $10,000 in securities investments, not exclusively in tax-deferred retirement accounts, more than 70 percent had investments over $100,000.”
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