SEC Chair Gensler appoints Barbara Roper to key SEC post

Roper has been a prominent advocate on investor protection issues, particularly the standards that apply to investment professionals giving advice and recommendations.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said Wednesday that he has appointed Barbara Roper as his senior advisor.

Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America, will focus on issues relating to retail investor protection, including matters relating to policy, broker-dealer oversight, investment advisor oversight and examinations.

Barbara Roper

“Barb is a champion for investors and will provide invaluable counsel on behalf of the American public,” Gensler said in a statement.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with her on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the critical market reforms of the Dodd-Frank Act, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with her again at the SEC,” Gensler explained.

Roper added in the statement that she’s “excited” to join Gensler’s leadership team.

“I’ve dedicated my career to ensuring that our capital markets work for the average investor,” she said.

“With investor protection at the core of the SEC’s mission, I’m looking forward to bringing that same focus on the needs of individual investors to my work for the SEC,” she explained.

Responding to the news, CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, said: “CFP Board applauds U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler’s appointment of Barbara Roper as senior advisor to the Chair. Ms. Roper is uniquely qualified to assist the chair in advancing the agency’s mission.”

“While most people know Barbara Roper for her life’s work on investor protection issues, we’ve watched for years as she’s engaged tirelessly with industry participants to find common ground. Ms. Roper [has] generously shared her expertise by serving with distinction on three CFP Board commissions,” Keller explained in a statement.

The CFP Board commissions Roper has served on are:

A 35-year veteran of the consumer group, Roper has been a prominent advocate on investor protection issues, particularly the standards that apply to investment professionals giving advice and recommendations. She is a graduate of Princeton University.

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