Are Retail Investors Better Off Today?

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial, & Commercial Law, Vol. 2, p. 303, 2008

U of Cincinnati Public Law Research Paper No. 07-34

37 Pages Posted: 21 Jan 2008 Last revised: 1 Feb 2010

See all articles by Barbara Black

Barbara Black

University of Cincinnati - College of Law

Date Written: January 15, 2008

Abstract

In recent years, investors' attitudes towards the securities industry plummeted, in reaction to both the conflicted research and the mutual fund scandals. In both instances, Congress and the regulators responded by asserting the need for reforms to restore the confidence of the retail investor.

This paper first reconsiders the importance of investor confidence and argues that, in an era where adults are required to invest in the markets, the government has a moral obligation to assure that investor confidence in the markets is warranted. This paper examines the SEC's reforms, as well as its investor education initiatives, through the lens of morality and assesses whether they have improved the environment for retail investors. It concludes that the most optimistic assessment is that the SEC has plenty of unfinished business to attend to.

Keywords: Securities Law

JEL Classification: K22

Suggested Citation

Black, Barbara, Are Retail Investors Better Off Today? (January 15, 2008). Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial, & Commercial Law, Vol. 2, p. 303, 2008, U of Cincinnati Public Law Research Paper No. 07-34, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1085744

Barbara Black (Contact Author)

University of Cincinnati - College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 210040
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
369
Abstract Views
2,989
Rank
147,285
PlumX Metrics