SEC Seeks Public Comment on Five-Year Strategic Plan

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week released for public comment a draft of its five-year strategic plan for 2010-2015. The plan includes the SEC’s mission, vision, values, strategic goals, major initiatives, and performance metrics for the next five years. The plan outlines the Commission’s four Strategic Goals, and more than 70 initiatives, many of which attempt to address problems brought to light by the global financial crisis, and perceived deficiencies in the Commission’s achievement of its mission in the wake of Madoff and other scandals.
 
The Strategic Goals are fostering and enforcing compliance with the federal securities laws by promptly detecting and prosecuting violations; establishing an effective regulatory environment that better promotes disclosure, reporting, and governance, and enhances the efficiency and transparency of the markets; facilitating access to information investors need, including providing access to high-quality and useful disclosure materials; and enhancing the Commission’s effectiveness through improved attraction and retention of human talent and technology.

Among the metrics proposed to measure the Commission’s success in achieving its enforcement goals are:

• Inspecting every “high-risk” investment advisor at least once every three-year cycle;
• “Successfully resolving” 90% or more of enforcement actions through litigation or settlement;
• Filing 65% of first enforcement cases within two years of commencement of an investigation;
• Collection of debts or initiation of collection efforts on 92% of cases within 180 days of the due date;
• Combining civil penalties with disgorged funds to increase the recovery by injured investors, and making the final distribution within two years of the order appointing the administrator;
• Paying whistleblowers for information that leads to enforcement actions resulting in significant sanctions.

The draft plan is open for public comment until November 16, 2009.