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imageSmiles are on the faces of RIA advisors as Richard Ketchum, chairman and chief executive of the self-regulatory organization, which oversees the U.S. brokerage industry, told Reuters he was bowing to political reality, and pulling back from his campaign to regulate RIA advisors.

FINRA spent much of the last couple of years lobbying to become the primary regulatory body for RIAs — spending nearly $5 million on lobbying since 2008, according to Reuters.

Looking at the reality after the 2012 elections and the make-up of the Congressional House of Representative Financial Services Committee, Ketchum told OnWallStreet.com it was doubtful the committee would focus on pursuing regulation of RIA’s, and he (Ketchum) would rather focus on things which they can impact.

However, before advisors start cheering too loudly, beware — the issue will probably resurface in the future; Ketchum has made it clear the issues have not disappeared.