The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has brought on another financial industry veteran to guide one of the federal government’s most ambitious children’s savings programs.
Joseph Velli will serve as Senior Advisor to IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano, with his role focused on Trump Accounts, CNBC reported.
The Treasury had already tapped the Bank of New York Mellon as the program’s financial agent, marking its first Wall Street tie, the department announced in April 2026. Velli’s background has drawn scrutiny from industry groups as the program moves toward broader enrollment.
He led ConvergEx Group, a trading services firm whose subsidiaries paid more than $107 million to settle SEC fraud charges while the parent company paid $43.8 million in Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal penalties and restitution, the SEC’s 2013 settlement order disclosed.
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SEC and DOJ enforcement actions totaling $150 million precede the new IRS advisor
Velli spent 22 years at the Bank of New York, rising to Senior Executive Vice President and joining its senior policy committee.
He oversaw divisions responsible for pension and 401(k) services, correspondent clearing, and global liquidity operations at the institution, according to his Cognizant board biography.
He left in 2006 to become Chairman and Chief Executive of ConvergEx Group, a trading technology firm the Bank of New York co-founded. The firm grew into a provider of software platforms and brokerage services for major institutional investors, according to the SEC’s 2013 order.
The 2013 settlement, reached while Velli led the firm, showed its brokerage arms routed customer orders through a Bermuda affiliate to extract hidden markups. Those undisclosed fees caused many clients to pay more than double the commissions they believed they owed.
The affected clients included funds managed on behalf of charities, religious organizations, retirement plans, universities, and government entities.
The subsidiaries paid $107 million to the SEC, and the parent agreed to $43.8 million in Department of Justice criminal penalties and restitution.
Bank of New York’s dual connection to Trump Accounts raises new questions
The Treasury designated the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) as the program’s financial agent in April 2026, the department announced. That designation gives the bank where Velli built his career custody of the savings vehicles he will now help administer from within the IRS.
Velli currently sits on the boards of Paychex, Cognizant, and Computershare, and the IRS has not published recusal or conflict-of-interest protocols, CNBC reported.
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The absence of published protocols around Velli’s dual connection to BNY adds to the open questions that industry groups have raised about professional standards for the program.
The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board urged the IRS in May 2026 to clarify whether professionals advising families must act as fiduciaries. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) pressed the Treasury to clarify the rules governing financial professionals who advise families on the accounts.
Both the CFP Board and NAIFA have called for clearer accountability structures as the program’s enrollment widens, with the CFP Board asking Treasury to clarify whether advisors must act as fiduciaries and NAIFA pressing for defined rules governing financial professionals.
Trump Accounts face scrutiny as BNY’s role and Joseph Velli’s board ties raise questions about potential conflicts and financial safeguards.Bloomberg / Getty Images
Auto-enrollment could add 60 million children to Trump Accounts
Trump Accounts launched on July 4, 2026, as tax-deferred investment vehicles for children under 18 with a $5,000 annual contribution limit.
That rapid expansion prompted NAIFA president Christopher L. Gandy to press the IRS on the guidance gap facing enrolled families.
Christopher L. Gandy, NAIFA president, told InvestmentNews in February 2026, urging the IRS to address that guidance gap as the program prepares for auto-enrollment.
<strong>But accounts alone do not build wealth; relationships, education, and disciplined guidance do,</strong>
More than 6.5 million families had signed up by mid-July 2026, including over 1.5 million children eligible for the $1,000 pilot contribution, the Treasury Department reported.
IRS CEO Frank Bisignano has stated, as reported by InvestmentNews, that the program’s goal is to reach all 70 million children under 18 in the U.S.
Jin Huang, co-director of Washington University’s Center for Social Development, testified on July 16, 2026, at the IRS and Treasury public hearing on proposed regulations REG-117270-25 that enrollment design shapes whether the program reaches families who need it most.
Huang contrasted Oklahoma’s SEED OK experiment, which used automatic enrollment and achieved nearly 100% participation, with opt-in programs that required parents to take affirmative steps, according to PlanAdviser’s coverage of his testimony.
Oversight gaps remain unresolved as enrollment scales
A 2024 CFP Board survey found that 92% of Americans who worked with a financial professional on rolling over retirement savings believed the professional was required to act in the investor’s best interest.
That expectation has not been formally applied to the advisors and institutions now shaping Trump Accounts as the program absorbs millions of new participants.
Velli’s tenure as ConvergEx’s chief executive produced the enforcement record that now forms part of the background to his IRS advisory role.
ConvergEx’s brokerages weighed the risk of client detection before adding hidden fees to extract undisclosed revenue from institutional investors, the SEC determined.
The IRS has not disclosed the oversight framework governing Velli’s advisory role or how it will manage his appointment alongside BNY’s financial agent designation.
Industry groups, including the CFP Board and NAIFA, have called for clearer accountability structures as enrollment expands, flagging unresolved questions about advisor fiduciary status and oversight protocols.
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