On 12 July 2017, in his first public speech as Chairman of the SEC, Jay Clayton set out some guiding principles for his leadership of the agency. The SEC's traditional disclosure-based approach to regulation was reaffirmed. The protection of the average investor, the modernising of the trading and markets system, the facilitation of capital formation, as well as increasing the attractiveness of the U.S. public capital markets, were among the main stated objectives of the SEC under the new Chairman's tenure.
Some of the other highlights of Chairman Clayton's speech included:
- rather than being merit-based, the federal securities laws should be focused on ensuring that "investors have access to a well-crafted package of information that facilitates informed decision-making". The Chairman may consider softening certain disclosure requirements for public companies, as he believes that the current regulations are too burdensome;
- the compliance rules adopted by the SEC should be clear and precise, and the costs associated with such rules should be carefully considered by it before their adoption; and SEC enforcement should focus on traditional serious fraud, such as "pump-and-dump schemes" and "microcap fraud", except with regard to cybersecurity issues, which the Chairman deems as essential in a modern market.
Chairman Clayton's complete speech may be accessed at:
https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/remarks-economic-club-new-york
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