Page 450

124 STAT. 1824 PUBLIC LAW 111–203—JULY 21, 2010

‘‘(B) disclosing the action, if any, the Commission
intends to take with respect to the finding or recommenda-
tion.
‘‘(h) COMMITTEE FINDINGS.—Nothing in this section shall
require the Commission to agree to or act upon any finding or
recommendation of the Committee.
‘‘(i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with respect to
the Committee and its activities.
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section.’’.

SEC. 912. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION TO
ENGAGE IN INVESTOR TESTING.
Section 19 of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77s) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) EVALUATION OF RULES OR PROGRAMS.—For the purpose
of evaluating any rule or program of the Commission issued or
carried out under any provision of the securities laws, as defined
in section 3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.
78c), and the purposes of considering, proposing, adopting, or
engaging in any such rule or program or developing new rules
or programs, the Commission may—
‘‘(1) gather information from and communicate with inves-
tors or other members of the public;
‘‘(2) engage in such temporary investor testing programs
as the Commission determines are in the public interest or
would protect investors; and
‘‘(3) consult with academics and consultants, as necessary
to carry out this subsection.
‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of the Paperwork
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), any action taken under
subsection (e) shall not be construed to be a collection of informa-
tion.’’.

SEC. 913. STUDY AND RULEMAKING REGARDING OBLIGATIONS OF
BROKERS, DEALERS, AND INVESTMENT ADVISERS.
15 USC 78o note. (a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘retail
customer’’ means a natural person, or the legal representative of
such natural person, who—
(1) receives personalized investment advice about securities
from a broker or dealer or investment adviser; and
(2) uses such advice primarily for personal, family, or
household purposes.
15 USC 78o note. (b) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a study to
evaluate—
(1) the effectiveness of existing legal or regulatory stand-
ards of care for brokers, dealers, investment advisers, persons
associated with brokers or dealers, and persons associated with
investment advisers for providing personalized investment
advice and recommendations about securities to retail cus-
tomers imposed by the Commission and a national securities
association, and other Federal and State legal or regulatory
standards; and

LAWS (2) whether there are legal or regulatory gaps, short- comings, or overlaps in legal or regulatory standards in the protection of retail customers relating to the standards of carePUBLIC with on anorris VerDate Nov 24 2008 00:49 Aug 26, 2010 Jkt 089139 PO 00203 Frm 00450 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL203.111 GPO1 PsN: PUBL203