SEC drafts goals, including changes to ‘outdated’ rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled a strategic plan aimed at setting priorities and goals for the next several years including changing rules that are “outdated.”

In its draft report titled Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2018-2022, one of the three main goals is ‘focusing on the long-term interests of Main Street investors’. But the agency also recognizes capital markets are evolving and that means ensuring the effective allocation of resources.

“Those looking to raise capital can explore an array of choices beyond our public capital markets, as private markets and foreign markets have become highly competitive and efficient,” the SEC wrote.

One initiative the agency plans to pursue, without providing specifics, is “identify, and take steps to address, existing SEC rules and approaches that are outdated.”

Organizations such as the Institutional Limited Partners Association have been voicing their opinions on rules that need to be changed. On April 30, ILPA sent a letter to SEC chairman Jay Clayton calling for greater transparency from general partners. The lobby group argued certain regulations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 are outdated.

“While we are supportive of SEC oversight, we recognize that some SEC rules and regulations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (IAA) may not be appropriately tailored to our industry nor accretive to the SEC in carrying out its oversight of private equity managers,” ILPA chief executive Steve Nelson wrote in the letter.

The SEC’s other initiatives include focusing on building a highly skilled workforce by “recruiting, retaining, and training staff with the right mix of skills and expertise.” It also wants to expand the use of risk and data analytics to help with its regulatory priorities, and to promote effective collaboration within the agency.

The regulator requests comments at PerformancePlanning@sec.gov.