01.25.21
SEC Expected to Shift Focus to Advisors, BDs Under Biden
by: Melanie Waddell
The incoming Biden administration will bring a “heightened level of enforcement activity” at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), specifically concerning investment advisors and broker-dealers, according to just-released analysis by the law firm Gibson Dunn. In the firm’s 2020 Year-End Securities Enforcement Update, which also includes a look ahead to 2021, the firm said to expect the SEC to shift its focus and priorities “away from retail investors and securities offering frauds and an increased emphasis on the conduct of institutional market participants — investment advisors and broker-dealers, as well as public company accounting, financial reporting and disclosure.” Assuming Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s pick to be the new SEC chief, is confirmed by the Senate, “his experience, both at the helm of the CFTC and since, confirm expectations for increased regulation and enforcement,” Gibson Dunn attorneys write. Gensler “presided over a period of heightened financial regulation and aggressive enforcement against major financial institutions,” the attorneys note.
Read the full article on Think Advisor.