WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The White House on Friday proposed to strengthen the Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to protect investors.

The proposal includes a measure that would empower the agency to examine and ban forms of compensation that encourage financial intermediaries to steer investors into products that are profitable to the intermediary, such as a broker-dealer, but are not in the investor's best interest.

The proposal is part of a larger regulatory reform initiative being urged by the Obama administration, which includes reform to the Federal Reserve and other bank regulators. The larger effort also seeks to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would examine mortgage and credit card products sold to individuals.

Legislation to create the consumer protection agency was formally introduced in the House this week, but lawmakers are still discussing the administration's other financial reform proposals, and have not yet introduced specific legislation cashadvance.

The White House proposal also seeks to give the SEC authority to prohibit or limit mandatory arbitration, which the Treasury argues could undermine investor interests.

The Treasury also seeks to empower the SEC to give investors better disclosures. The proposal seeks give the SEC authority to regulate the quality and timing of disclosures to investors about the costs of a fund compared to other similar funds. Such disclosures would have to be made prior to the completion of a sale of the fund, according to the proposal.

It would also set up a fund to pay whistleblowers for information that leads to enforcement actions that result in financial awards, and would also make permanent an investor advisory committee, which provides advice to the SEC on behalf of investors.

White House seeks to empower SEC to help investors