Industry reps gain the SEC’s ear on rulemaking

The US Securities & Exchange Commission has corralled a 21-strong team of institutional investors, fund managers, legal experts and others to a newly formed Investor Advisory Committee.

Among those providing the SEC advice on regulatory priorities, fee structures, disclosure policies and other topics important to investors include Joseph Dear, chief investment officer of the $234 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System and Anne Sheehan, director of corporate governance at the $152 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System.

Joseph Dear

“The formation of this group is one more critical step to protecting and strengthening shareowner rights and investor confidence in the financial markets,” said Dear in a statement. 

Providing a voice for private equity managers will be Mark Tresnowski, a managing director and general counsel at Madison Dearborn Partners. 

Other members nominated by the agency’s five commissioners include Darcy Bradbury, director of external affairs at hedge fund group DE Shaw and Stephen Holmes, the chief operating officer of venture capital firm InterWest Partners. 

The nominations follow a letter of caution penned by CalPERS and other institutional investors which urged the SEC to adopt a more proactive agenda in the realm of investor protections. 

In a letter dated 13 February to SEC chair Mary Schapiro, the group of investors said “there is a growing movement to undercut the goals of market reform. If this movement is successful, there is the very real risk that investor confidence will erode”.

The committee, which was born out of Dodd-Frank, will begin work “in the near future”, according to a SEC statement. The full list of nominations can be found here.