IIB 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1090 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
OCTOBER 28, 2015 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to provide 
protections for retail customers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retail Investor Protec-
tion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STAY ON RULES DEFINING CERTAIN FIDUCIARIES. 
After the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Labor shall not prescribe any regulation under the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) defining the circumstances under 
which an individual is considered a fiduciary until the date 
that is 60 days after the Securities and Exchange Com-
mission issues a final rule relating to standards of conduct 
for brokers and dealers pursuant to the second subsection 
(k) of section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78o(k)). 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT 
OF 1934. 
The second subsection (k) of section 15 of the Securi-
ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o(k)), as added 
by section 913(g)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Re-
form and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 et 
seq.), is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO RULEMAKING.— 
The Commission shall not promulgate a rule pursu-
ant to paragraph (1) before— 
‘‘(A) providing a report to the Committee 
on Financial Services of the House of Rep-
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resentatives and the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate de-
scribing whether— 
‘‘(i) retail investors (and such other 
customers as the Commission may provide) 
are being harmed due to brokers or dealers 
operating under different standards of con-
duct than those that apply to investment 
advisors under section 211 of the Invest-
ment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 
80b–11); 
‘‘(ii) alternative remedies will reduce 
any confusion or harm to retail investors 
due to brokers or dealers operating under 
different standards of conduct than those 
standards that apply to investment advi-
sors under section 211 of the Investment 
Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–11), 
including— 
‘‘(I) simplifying the titles used by 
brokers, dealers, and investment ad-
visers; and 
‘‘(II) enhancing disclosure sur-
rounding the different standards of 
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conduct currently applicable to bro-
kers, dealers, and investment advisers; 
‘‘(iii) the adoption of a uniform fidu-
ciary standard of conduct for brokers, 
dealers, and investment advisors would ad-
versely impact the commissions of brokers 
and dealers, the availability of proprietary 
products offered by brokers and dealers, 
and the ability of brokers and dealers to 
engage in principal transactions with cus-
tomers; and 
‘‘(iv) the adoption of a uniform fidu-
ciary standard of conduct for brokers or 
dealers and investment advisors would ad-
versely impact retail investor access to per-
sonalized and cost-effective investment ad-
vice, recommendations about securities, or 
the availability of such advice and rec-
ommendations. 
‘‘(4) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—The Commission’s 
conclusions contained in the report described in 
paragraph (3) shall be supported by economic anal-
ysis. 
‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
PROMULGATING
A 
RULE.—The Commission shall publish in the Fed-
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eral Register alongside the rule promulgated pursu-
ant to paragraph (1) formal findings that such rule 
would reduce confusion or harm to retail customers 
(and such other customers as the Commission may 
by rule provide) due to different standards of con-
duct applicable to brokers, dealers, and investment 
advisors. 
‘‘(6) REQUIREMENTS UNDER INVESTMENT AD-
VISERS
ACT
OF
1940.—In proposing rules under 
paragraph (1) for brokers or dealers, the Commis-
sion shall consider the differences in the registration, 
supervision, and examination requirements applica-
ble to brokers, dealers, and investment advisors.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives October 27, 
2015. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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