The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has questioned the fairness and efficiency of U.S. securities industry self-regulation in light of market developments, new technologies, growing global competition, and additional factors that increase the conflicts inherent in a system of self-regulation. In this paper, the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity comments generally on the global convergence of securities markets and regulation and seeks to address whether self-regulation is viable in today's climate. This paper focuses on traits that will strengthen self-regulatory systems by addressing the inherent conflicts and develops a core set of standards generally applicable to most regulatory systems, regardless of jurisdiction or structure. The paper concludes by offering several suggestions for a global oversight framework of securities markets focused on efficiency and investor protection.