As she said she would, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., introduced on Wednesday the Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2012, which would allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to collect user fees from advisors to fund their exams in lieu of a self-regulatory organization.

In introducing the bill, co-sponsored by Massachusetts Democrats Barney Frank and Michael Capuano, Waters said that "it is absolutely essential that we improve the oversight of investment advisers—the people that manage the assets of millions of individual and institutional investors across the country."

Since the crisis four years ago, she continued, "we have witnessed an unfortunate deterioration in the public's confidence in our financial markets. Though the vast majority of investment advisers operate with integrity and want to help their clients meet their financial goals, it is clear that the SEC's current examination levels need to be augmented in order to bolster the public's trust in this marketplace."