SEC Plans to Reduce Fees on Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission will reduce by $1 billion the fees it levies on securities transactions, a move that will benefit ordinary investors, the head of the agency told Congress on Wednesday.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox announced the move as he testified at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, outlining a number of initiatives taken during his nine-month tenure meant to enhance the disclosure of financial information, reduce the complexity of regulations and protect older people from investment scams.

A portion of the fees go to fund the SEC’s operations. Starting in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the fees that the SEC charges companies to register and issue stocks and other securities will be reduced by 71.3%, and most fees levied on securities transactions will be cut in half.

“That money will stay in investors’ pockets,” Cox said. Money that ultimately would have come from investors could now go instead for retirement savings and other investments, he said.

The reduction in fees, made in line with federal law, will not affect the amount of money available to fund the agency, the SEC said.

Democratic lawmakers on the financial services panel, meanwhile, banded together to force the committee leaders to hold a hearing in the near future on executive compensation.