According to a recent Bloomberg report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering whether it should take a role in helping Americans manage their retirement savings. CFPB Director Richard Cordray told a Bloomberg reporter that the consumer protection agency is “exploring” that possibility and considering the extent of its authority in that area. The Bloomberg report notes that this would be the agency’s first foray into consumer investments.

Aside from the Bloomberg piece, there has been little in the media or in the CFPB’s public record indicating its intention to expand its regulatory reach to retirement savings accounts. If the CBPB follows through on Cordray’s explorations, this could increase the number of regulators to which the investment community must answer. Unnamed sources apparently in the know elaborated on Cordray’s statement in the Bloomberg article, indicating that the CFPB is concerned that retirees, and consumers generally, might be “falling prey to financial scams” relating to retirement savings.

Please see full alert below for more information.