S. 327

Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish and implement a "safe harbor" for certain investment fund research reports published by brokers and dealers. Such reports shall be deemed not to be "offers" under specified provisions of securities law, even if the broker or dealer participates in the registered offering of the investment fund's securities.

In implementing the safe harbor, the SEC must prohibit a self-regulatory organization from maintaining or enforcing a rule that would prevent a member from: (1) publishing or distributing a covered investment fund research report solely because the member is also participating in a registered offering of the fund, or (2) participating in a registered offering of a covered investment fund solely because the member has published a research report about the fund.

The bill restricts the SEC from conditioning the safe harbor upon specified requirements.

The safe harbor shall generally not apply to reports about a business development company or a registered closed-end investment company published by a broker or dealer during a specified time frame.