Good afternoon, it is a pleasure to be here today and a delight to see all of you and bring the symposium to a close.
Having lived in the financial world since the 1980s, I can assure you that – not long ago -- we could have held a “Women in Finance Symposium” in a much smaller room. It’s heartening to see the talents and training of half the population increasingly devoted to the goal of a growing American economy. Yet, it is still the rare occasion when I can look out from the podium and see an audience of women and, I must say, it is a thrill.
It thought I’d focus on investor protection at the SEC. That’s a critical mission because of the vital role investors play in our economy: investors who allocate trillions of dollars in ways that drive the economy forward.
The cumulative success or failure of uncounted investment decisions every year has tremendous repercussions for the current recovery and future growth.
As a regulator, the SEC is not interested in limiting or guiding these investment decisions. We are, however, determined to see that investors have access to the accurate and relevant information they need to balance risk and reward and – in doing that – funnel capital to dynamic firms that grow rapidly and strengthen our economy.
Of course, good information doesn’t guarantee a wise investment decision. But, increased transparency surely increases the odds. That’s why, despite the extraordinary breadth of activity at the SEC, especially post-Dodd-Frank, we are also focused on our work that ensures that investors are getting quality information that they require.
Disclosure Reviews
One way in which we are helping investors is with our teams of disclosure experts. These are the men and women who review disclosure statements filed by reporting companies, to ensure that key information is provided in a manner that both is clear and reflects the SEC’s requirements.
While it’s a tried and true process, this year we established a specialized team to concentrate on large financial institutions.
- For example, as with all companies, we want investors to understand how executives at these institutions are compensated, and why a particular compensation strategy is selected.
