Seattle, Washington – North Dakota Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler today was elected to a one-year term as President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).
NASAA is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. Its membership consists of the securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Mexico.
In an address at NASAA's 90th annual conference here, Tyler said she will continue NASAA's longstanding advocacy of the important investor protection role served by state and provincial securities regulators. A strong securities regulatory structure helps maintain investor confidence, and strong investor confidence is a necessary ingredient for a vibrant, competitive capital market system.
Tyler reminded members of the financial services industry of the important role they play in the lives of investors. Given the number and often the convergence of obstacles challenging the individual investor, the work of investment firms and professionals on behalf of investors has perhaps never been as important as it is today, she said. Investing should not be an assembly-line, one size fits most, process. The millions of individual investors throughout North America deserve better.
She also called for regulators to work collaboratively to eliminate investor confusion over the duties and responsibilities of financial industry professionals. This confusion over who provides what needs to be eliminated, she said. Regulators must work collaboratively to eliminate regulatory arbitrage, and afford investors protection parity.
For the past year, Tyler has served as NASAA's president-elect. Previously, she served as a member of NASAA's Board of Directors and as chair of NASAA's Investor Education Section and the NASAA committee on 529 Plans. Tyler was appointed by Governor John Hoeven in July 2001, and oversees the enforcement, registration, corporation finance, and investor education divisions of the North Dakota Securities Department.