Wall Street Brokers Risk Losing Billions in Fees on SEC Shift

A potential regulatory shift in favor of the ETF industry is expected to shake up the business models of Wall Street brokers, with billions of dollars in revenue at stake.

Wirehouses and broker dealers risk losing between $15 billion and $30 billion a year in fees that they currently collect from the mutual funds they offer to customers, according to a report released Thursday by Cerulli Associates.

These losses are possible if the Securities and Exchange Commission allows mutual fund managers to add an exchange traded share class to the funds they operate. They have not been able to make ...