Broker-dealers have enough compliance issues as to their own conduct without being obligated to monitor the conduct of advisers, which are also regulated entities. This is a good step in taking a burden off the broker-dealers. Monitoring the advisers should generally be left to the SEC or state regulators.

This rule proposal is the equivalent of stopping the manufacture of pennies: an overdue change that catches the law up to the real world.

Regulators are wise to limit the amount of sensitive information that they hold, as the governmental entities are no less vulnerable to cyber breaches than are private entities. In fact, regulators may be more vulnerable, since they may be less concerned about being subject to enforcement actions, private suits, or loss of reputation. Indeed, one of the primary complaints that SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce advanced against the Consolidated Audit Trail is that it collected a massive amount…

This is so overdue. While we are on the topic, it's time to get rid of nickels and dimes. According to Google, a penny in 1800 is the equivalent of more than a quarter today.