SEC Chair Jay Clayton reported on the status of the agency's operations, rulemakings and enforcement efforts. In an address at the "SEC Speaks" Conference, Mr. Clayton offered an agency overview through the "eyes of management," and likened his report to the disclosures required by public companies in the "Management's Discussion and Analysis" section of SEC filings.

On SEC operations, Mr. Clayton said that several factors and trends affect results. These factors include the ability to retain and recruit talented staff, planning for the consequences of Brexit, and the ability to invest in technology.

On SEC rulemakings, Mr. Clayton said the SEC advanced 23 out of 26 rules on its "near-term agenda." He noted that:

  • the Division of Corporation Finance continues to work on several regulatory actions to foster capital formation;
  • the Division of Investment Management conducted a long-term project to assess the modernization of the "design, delivery and content of fund disclosures," and other relevant information to help investors; and
  • the Division of Trading and Markets led initiatives to increase transparency with respect to market activities (e.g., the SEC adopted amendments to improve the transparency requirements governing alternative trading systems).

Further, Mr. Clayton highlighted the joint work by the Divisions of Investment Management and of Trading and Markets to improve and clarify standards of conduct and required disclosures for broker-dealers and investment advisers. He stated that the standards of conduct should reflect what retail investors expect of broker-dealers and investment advisers, while preserving investors' choices in (i) the type of professionals with whom they want to work, (ii) the "nature" and "scope of services" that they receive, and (iii) how they want to pay for them. In addition, Mr. Clayton stated that the SEC promotes informed investment decision-making through education initiatives aimed at supplying retail investors with a more robust understanding of capital markets.

On enforcement, Mr. Clayton said that continuing efforts by the SEC Division of Enforcement to deter misconduct protect millions of investors. He said that protecting retail investors means "putting money back in their pockets" when they are harmed by federal securities laws violations. Mr. Clayton said the SEC returned roughly $790 million to harmed investors in fiscal year 2018.

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