SEC Missed Chance on Money Funds, Should Step Aside Now

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- A former member of the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission recently asked me to co-signa letter urging a federal oversight body to refrain from takingregulatory action normally left to the SEC. I believe deeply inthe independence of the agency I once led, but in this case, Icould not place my loyalty to the organization above the largergoal of protecting individual investors. So I refused to sign.

Every regulatory agency operates with a core mandate, andthe SEC’s is clear: Promote healthy and well-functioningmarkets, and protect investors through appropriate regulationsand enforcement actions. The SEC must always place that missionabove all other goals, including its own sovereignty andindependence. When it doesn’t, others may have to.