SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro today reiterated her support for a universal fiduciary standard that would apply to all financial service professionals who provide investment advice about securities.

Schapiro, speaking at the annual meeting of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in New York, said that the standard should apply to both broker-dealers and investment advisors because “investors don’t make a distinction between the two—and neither should we.” The fiduciary duty, Schapiro added, is about advisors putting the investor’s interests above their own. Her remarks come on the same day that the House Financial Services Committee will begin discussing the creation of a universal fiduciary duty.

Schapiro’s speech mostly focused on restoring investor confidence in the financial markets and in U.S. regulators. She stressed the need to create transparent financial products that do away with “complex fee arrangements or product descriptions.” Schapiro said the SEC is going to focus in the coming year on issues related to disclosure, product development and marketing for retirement products. She also created a task force to review the growth of the life settlements market, and also has target date funds on the commission’s “radar screen.”

Schapiro said that in order to restore investor confidence, the SEC has to shore up several regulatory gaps. Hedge funds, she said, “have flown under the regulatory radar for too long.” Schapiro supports the Obama administration’s recommendation that advisers to private funds be required to register with the SEC. She also credited the recent passage of bills from two House committees to regulate OTC derivatives.

Responding to an audience question asking for her thoughts about the “regulatory pendulum,” Schapiro said she does not think the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of over-regulation. She said many of the issues the SEC is addressing have been on its list for years—including money market reform and corporate governance—but were pushed to the side as the commission dealt with more pressing matters in the wake of the economic meltdown. Perhaps seeking to reassure those concerned about how the U.S. will compete on the global markets in the wake of new reforms, Schapiro added that the policies being considered here are also being considered by regulators all over the world.

“We will not create a disjointed regulatory regime that for inappropriate reasons migrates business from one part of the world to another,” Schapiro said.