A group of small and mid-sized U.S. brokerage firms have formed the American Securities Association (ASA) to lobby on their behalf, particularly to argue against “one-size fits all” regulation targeted at large Wall Street firms.
The new Washington, D.C.-based group has been established to, “advance the business, market, regulatory and legislative interests of American middle-market and regional investment banks and securities dealers,” the ASA announced on Wednesday. It aims to promote free market capitalism and a low cost of capital.
The ASA will serve as the umbrella organization for the Bond Dealers of America (BDA), which has represented the interests of fixed-income firms since 2008, and the newly formed Equity Dealers of America (EDA), which is modelled on the BDA, and represents the retail and institutional operations of mid-market firms on equity market issues.
“Washington’s one-size-fits-all approach to industry regulation disproportionately harms our ability to drive economic recovery and job creation, which is vital to the regions we serve, and surely is not the intended purpose,” says Curt Bradbury, the first chairman of the ASA and chief operating officer at Little Rock, Ark.-based investment bank, Stephens Inc., in a statement.
The ASA board also includes representatives from firms such as BB&T Securities, Piper Jaffray, Raymond James Financial, and Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Similarly, the founding members of the EDA are BB&T Securities, Hilltop Securities, Janney Montgomery Scott, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Piper Jaffray, Raymond James Financial, Robert W. Baird & Co., Stephens Inc., Stifel Nicolaus & Company, William Blair & Company, and Wunderlich Securities.
“Through our collective efforts, middle market investment banks and securities dealers will be better positioned to overcome the burden of undifferentiated regulation,” adds Bradbury.