The Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan independent watchdog, told House Financial Services Chairman Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., and the ranking Democrat, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, in a letter Tuesday that it opposes Bachus' bill to create a self-regulatory organization to oversee advisors, H.R. 4624.

POGO, which investigates corruption, misconduct and conflicts of interest, told Bachus and Frank that it has joined others in "raising serious concerns" about the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which is said to be the lead SRO candidate. The SRO's "regulatory effectiveness is undermined by its inherent conflicts of interest, its lack of transparency and accountability, its lobbying expenditures, and its executive compensation packages, among other issues," Angela Canterbury, POGO's Director of Public Policy and Michael Smallberg, a POGO investigator, told the lawmakers.

The POGO officials said that "there is no substitute for governmental regulation of the investment advisor industry. Therefore, we urge the Committee to reject H.R. 4624."