WASHINGTON – The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Thursday named a smaller, five-member Investor Advisory Group for 2017, which will meet throughout the year to provide the board assistance on investor protection issues.
The board created its investor advisory group last year after shelving a controversial proposal that would have eased MSRB independence standards so that it could have bought another public investor onto its board. That first advisory board had seven members.
"As the MSRB advances several significant investor protection proposals, the Investor Advisory Group will help ensure that the MSRB's policies are informed by the expertise and perspectives of a diverse group of investors," said the board's chairwoman chair Colleen Woodell.
The five members are: Fred S. Cohen, senior vice president and director of municipal bond trading at AllianceBernstein LP; Jim Ladge, chief operating officer and portfolio manager at Appleton Partners, Inc.; Geoffrey L. Schechter, investment officer at MFS Investment Management; Justin Schwartz, head of municipal money markets at Vanguard Group, Inc.; and Ben Smelser, vice president and senior trader at Breckinridge Capital Advisors.
