Regulators act to protect seniors

The Securities and Exchange Commission has partnered with a pair of securities regulators, seeking input on firms’ best practices to protect senior investors. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. and the North American Securities Administrators Association will help the SEC’s staff with the initiative. Specifically the three groups want to hear about financial services’ firms marketing to seniors, account opening and review, ongoing relationship reviews, as well as appropriateness of products for this age group. Regulators are also interested in how firms are adjusting to the changing needs of their senior investors as they age, along with training procedures for workers and compliance and surveillance reviews. Upon receiving and compiling the responses, the regulators plan to publish their findings to help all firms improve their service to these investors. “It’s important to maximize the cutting-edge practices being developed by financial services firms to ensure that America’s senior investors are being protected and well-served by brokers, investment advisers and others in the securities industry,” SEC chairman Christopher Cox said in a statement.