Columbia Law School
Sky Blog
Our nation is facing a savings crisis. Many young workers are unable to save at all; half of America’s retirees have saved less than $65,000 and face the terrifying prospect of running out of money in retirement.[1] Every time
Securities and Exchange Commission
Wachtell Lipton Discusses Corporate Purpose—Stakeholders and Long-Term Growth
Until recently, the dialogue on corporate governance has focused almost exclusively on how to increase the ability of shareholders to impose their will on corporations. Shareholder groups, advisory firms and academics continually developed and added to a set of “best …
SEC Commissioner Talks a Quarter Century of Exchange-Traded Fun
Since the first exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) launched in 1993, ETFs have proven to be one of the most useful and successful innovations in the registered fund space under the Investment Company Act (“Act”) of 1940. The innovation did not stop
SEC Commissioner Peirce on the Need to Reexamine Rules
Thank you, Peter [Easton] for that kind introduction. I appreciate the chance to be with you at today’s conference to discuss Hot Topics at the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is a small population of people who would describe anything
SEC Chairman Announces Roundtable on Management, Reporting, and Regulation
Our capital markets benefit from a level of retail investor participation that is unparalleled among the world’s large industrialized countries. Our Main Street investors who, day in and day out, put their hard-earned money to work for the long term
SEC Commissioner Peirce Talks Digital Assets: How We “Howey”
One year ago, I gave a speech—appropriately in Southern California—called “Beaches and Bitcoin.”[1] At that time—not so long ago in analog time but eons ago in digital time—the burning question was how to decide when issuing tokens constituted an
SEC Chairman Clayton Testifies to Senate on 2020 Budget Request
Chairman Kennedy, Ranking Member Coons and Senators of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget request for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[1]
It is an honor
SEC Chairman Clayton Comments on Proposed Amendments to Sarbanes-Oxley
Good morning. This is an open meeting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under the Government in the Sunshine Act. Our only item on the agenda today is a recommendation from the Division of Corporation Finance to propose amendments
SEC Commissioner Jackson Dissents from Proposed Amendments to Sarbanes-Oxley
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the Staff in the Division of Corporation Finance, including John Fieldsend, Elizabeth Murphy, Felicia Kung, Lindsay McCord, and Director Bill Hinman, for their work in developing today’s release. I also appreciate the
How Are Non-Financial and Financial Misconduct Related?
Companies face strong incentives to meet expectations – whether their own or those of the capital markets. A wide literature shows that this can lead to deceptive behavior by firms, which can amount to anything from overly aggressive accounting to …
SEC Commissioner Jackson Comments on Proposed Rule on Financial Disclosures for Mergers and Acquisitions
Let me begin by thanking the staff in the Division of Corporation Finance, including Division Director Bill Hinman, for their hard work in developing the May 3 release and for helpful briefings throughout this process.
The May 3 proposal governs …
SEC Chief Accountant Talks the Future of Financial Reporting
I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business and speak at the annual financial reporting conference for the fourth time. Many students who were starting their collegiate work here when I first spoke at this
Debevoise Discusses SEC Disclosure Changes for Tech, Media, and Telecom Firms
On March 20, 2019, the SEC announced the adoption of amendments to Regulation S-K intended to modernize and simplify disclosure requirements applicable to SEC reporting companies. Highlighted below are two changes of note for companies in the technology, media and …
Beyond Disclosure: A New Way of Examining Securities Regulation
When it comes to the U.S. securities markets, the game has changed. Historically, the U.S. securities markets were dominated by retail investors who engaged in a buy and hold strategy: purchasing stocks as a vehicle to invest in a corporation …
Do Share Buybacks Deserve More Regulatory Scrutiny?
In 2018, U.S. companies spent $1 trillion to buy back their shares, while they spent $4 trillion to do so between 2008 and 2017. This is raising strong criticism from different quarters in the political sphere. Not only do key …
Insider Trading and Disclosure: The Case of Cyberattacks
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently identified incidents in which top executives sold shares before disclosing to the public negative information about cyberattacks. For example, the former chief information officer of Equifax, Jun Ying, exercised his stock options …
SEC Investor Advocate Talks Investor Issues for 2019
Good afternoon. I hope you are enjoying this year’s edition of SEC Speaks, which gives the public a good overview of all the work that is going on at the Commission.[1] In the Office of the Investor Advocate, we
Commissioner Peirce Speaks on SEC’s “Secret Law”
I would like to begin with the standard disclaimer plus an additional one that ties with the theme of this speech. The views I represent are my own and not necessarily those of the Commission or my fellow Commissioners. The
SEC’s Roisman on Encouraging Smaller Entrants to U.S. Capital Markets
Good afternoon. Thank you to everyone who hurried back from lunch to hear me speak. The pressure is on for me to make it worth your while. I never imagined that I would be standing at this podium, but I …
SEC Chair Clayton Offers “MD&A” for the Agency
Disclosure and the concepts of materiality, comparability, flexibility, efficiency and responsibility have been, and continue to be, the bedrock principles that make our public capital markets the most fair and efficient markets in the world. Today, I will take a