The North American Securities Administrators Association has installed a new president, and announced its board for the coming year.

North Dakota Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler was elected to a one-year term as president of the NASAA. She succeeds Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph Borg. Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph will serve as NASAA’s president-elect, and will succeed Tyler next fall.

NASAA also announced its 2007-2008 board of directors. The sole Canadian representative is Glenda Campbell, vice chair of the Alberta Securities Commission.

In an address at NASAA’s 90th annual conference, Tyler said she will continue NASAA’s longstanding advocacy of the investor protection role served by state and provincial securities regulators. “Strong regulation helps maintain investor confidence. And strong investor confidence is a necessary ingredient for a vibrant and competitive capital market,” she said.

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 retail investor, the work of investment firms and professionals on behalf of small 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.”