Barbara Roper: 'Protections Have Been Under Attack'

<p>Our guest on the podcast today is Barbara Roper. She is director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America, where she has been employed since 1986. A leading consumer spokesperson on investor protection issues, Roper has conducted studies of abuses in the financial planning industry, state oversight of investment advisors, state and federal financial planning regulation, financial planning software, financial education needs of low-income older persons, the information preferences of mutual fund shareholders, systemic risk regulation, and securities law weaknesses as a cause of the financial crisis. She has testified frequently before Congress and has supported federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives on a broad range of investor protection issues. Roper is a member of the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee, Finra's Investor Issues Group, and the CFP Board's Public Policy Council and Standards Commission.</p><p><strong>Background</strong><br /><a href="https://consumerfed.org/expert/barbara-roper/">Barbara Roper bio</a><br /><a href="https://consumerfed.org/expert/micah-hauptman/">Micah Hauptman bio</a><br /><a href="https://consumerfed.org/">Consumer Federation of America</a><br /><a href="https://consumerfed.org/issues/investor-protection/">Consumer Federation of America, Investor Protection Division</a></p><p><strong>State of Investor Protections Today</strong><br />"<a href="https://www.sec.gov/answers/about-lawsshtml.html">The Laws That Govern the Securities Industry</a>"</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment_Company_Act_of_1940">Investment Company Act of 1940</a></p><p><a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/investadvact.asp">Investment Advisers Act of 1940</a></p><p><strong>Growth of Private Market</strong><br />"<a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2017/05/18/looking-behind-the-declining-number-of-public-companies/">Looking Behind the Declining Number of Public Companies</a>," by Les Brorsen, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance