12.19.21

Why Wall Street's Top Cop Thinks It's Time to Get Tough

by: David Gura

SEC Chair Gary Gensler worries that millions of amateur investors have started trading stocks for the first time during the pandemic may not be adequately protected. Under his leadership, the agency is making its way through a long agenda. There's a lot more to come, much of it tied to forcing Wall Street to divulge more information or to enhance protections for average investors. The sheer scope of SEC's agenda has stunned some longtime Wall Street observers. "I'm staggered, as someone who has been watching the SEC for half a century now, that the agenda is so robust, and there is so much energy behind it," says James Cox, who teaches corporate and securities law at Duke University. Gensler's aggressive approach to regulation has some investors worried the United States could fall behind its competitors, or that new rules could stifle innovation.

Read the full article on NPR