The SEC–CFTC Alignment: Why Advisors Should Pay Attention

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are taking real steps toward regulatory harmonization, an effort to streamline overlapping rules and modernize oversight of U.S. financial markets.

For investment advisers, this could mark a long-awaited shift from fragmented supervision to a more consistent, predictable regulatory environment.

Harmonization could bring tangible benefits:

• Simplified compliance across regulatory regimes
• Increase in recommending new products
• More consistent expectations for reporting and risk oversight
• A better foundation for automation and efficiency
  

For advisers managing complex portfolios or working with derivatives, this alignment could mean less friction and fewer manual processes to reconcile competing rules.

The agencies’ coordination signals a move toward principles-based oversight. This could impact: Advisers should start asking:

• Compliance and reporting workflows which may have to adapt to changing standards
• Technology and data systems that support automation across multiple regulators
• Risk monitoring, disclosures, and client communications regarding harmonized rules
  

This wouldn’t just be a regulatory clean-up, it would be a structural modernization of oversight. For advisers, it would represent a chance to build more efficient, technology-enabled compliance models that can scale with growth and evolving client needs.

Staying ahead of this possible change can provide advisers the opportunity to turn harmonization into a competitive advantage, not just a compliance obligation.

To view the joint statement issued by the SEC and CFTC for further details, please click the following link: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/joint-statement-atkins-pham-090525