Issue: Self-Regulatory Organizations like FINRA have a positive impact on capital markets through robust rulemaking, regulation, and publication of best practices for broker-dealers and financial advisors. Because of its positive role in regulation, FINRA is worth fixing. FINRA’s public-facing marketing mission is “to protect investors and safeguard the integrity of the U.S. capital markets to ensure that everyone can invest with confidence.”  For too many years, FINRA has ignored critical components to meet this mission, especially as it relates to investor protection.  The issues run deep and are systemic. Although given decades to adequately address several critical issues related to FINRA’s mission, it has failed to act voluntarily, accepting far too much influence from the industry it is charged with regulating and supervising.  Most alarming, recently, FINRA has taken major steps backwards, running into the arms of the securities industry.

Desired Result: Congress support legislation that materially reforms FINRA with an eye towards investor protection, public oversight, and accountability.

Materials

• Issue Summary

• March 5, 2026, Written Testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Capital Markets Subcommittee, Regarding, The Role of Self-Regulatory Organization in U.S. Markets: Examining FINRA and the MSRB, Submitted by Jennifer Shaw, Executive Director, PIABA

• October 25 2024, The Insurance Solution for Financial Advice Failures, Authors, Benjamin Edwards and Adam Gana

• September 29, 2021, PIABA Report: FINRA Arbitration’s Persistent Unpaid Award Problem, Authors Hugh D. Berkson and David P. Meyer

• March 7, 2018, PIABA Report: Unpaid Arbitration Awards – The Case for an Investor Recovery Pool, Authors Andrew Stoltmann and Hugh D. Berkson 

• February 25, 2016,  PIABA Report: Unpaid Arbitration Awards: A Problem the Industry  Created – A Problem the Industry Must Fix, Author Hugh D. Berkson

Issue: Cryptocurrency continues to play an outsized role in financial frauds impacting American investors, including seniors and retirees, and the problem is expanding exponentially. On April 6, 2026, the FBI released statistics in its Internet Crime Report for 2025. The numbers are staggering. Specifically, it reports approximately $11.36 billion in losses related to cryptocurrency, a 22% increase from 2024, with Americans over 60 years of age reporting over $4.43 billion in losses. The number of complaints reported to the FBI involving cryptocurrency have increased over 530% since 2021. The FBI estimates that the numbers of actual victims are at least double what is reported.  One common thread in the reporting of senior financial abuse is the exponential increase in the role of cryptocurrency.

Desired Resolution: Respectfully request that the Congress only vote for legislation that includes consumer protections, a private right of action, and provides no safe harbors at the expense of consumers.

Materials

• Issue Summary

•  Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Report 2025

• March 17, 2026, PIABA Comment Letter, PIABA Urges Congress to Preserve State Authority and Protect Investors in Federal Market Structure Legislation 

• October 15, 2025, PIABA Comment Letter, Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025

• April 1, 2025, Congressional Research Service, Introduction to Cryptocurrency

• April 3, 2026, Congressional Research Service, SEC Issues Crypto Guidance as Congress Considers Market-Structure Legislation

Mandatory Arbitration Fairness – Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs)

Issue: The framework for dispute resolution is straightforward for claims involving broker-dealers (BDs), as customer agreements are regulated by FINRA rules, and FINRA provides a standardized arbitration forum. Unlike BDs, RIAs are not subject to FINRA’s oversight or rules, meaning a comparable arbitration framework does not exist to resolve disputes between RIAs and clients.

Because investment advisory agreements between RIAs and clients are not limited or regulated by any self-regulatory organization (SRO) or uniform regulator, mandatory arbitration clauses often include draconian provisions that harm investors. The lack of constraints on an RIA’s use of these provisions raises serious questions about consistency, fairness, and fundamental access to justice

Desired Resolution: PIABA respectfully requests that Your office sign on to a letter directed to Chairman Atkins requesting that the SEC use its statutory authority and prohibit the use of unfair and abusive mandatory arbitration clauses.

Materials

• Issue Summary

• Arbitration of Investment Adviser Disputes is Unfair, Adam Gana, James Fallows Tierney, and Zahra Hodjat

• June 5, 2025, Recommendation of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee Regarding the Use of Mandatory Arbitration Claues by Registered Investment Advisers

• Fiscal Year 2025 SEC Examination Priorities – Division of Examinations

• November 2, 2023 Coalition Letter to Gensler 

• July 29, 2024, PIABA Memo to the SEC Office of Investment Management

• June 27, 2023, SEC Response to Congress: Mandatory Arbitration Among SEC Registered Investment Advisers

• June 2023, SEC’s Office of Investor Advocate – Mandatory Arbitration among SEC Registered Investment Adivsers

• SEC Office of Investor Advocate Fiscal Year 2023 Report on Activities

• February 1, 2024, Investor-Advocacy Coalition to Push SEC for RIA Rule Reform in Wake of Scathing Report – Press Event

• Forced Investment Advisory Arbitration and the Effect on the Investing Public and on the Industry, Adam J. Gana, PIABA President, prepared for SEC Investor Advisory Committee