Robert Khuzami, Director of the Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission, gave a speech on Wednesday (August 5, 2009) at the New York City Bar Association on his “First 100 Days” as Director of Enforcement. Mr. Khuzami addressed the three-month self-assessment the Enforcement Division has undertaken to evaluate how it can be more efficient and successful and the results of that work, the division’s core casework, and major initiatives undertaken at the Commission in the last three months.
One of the new initiatives discussed by Mr. Khuzami on Wednesday is the creation of national “specialized units”, which will be dedicated to particular specialized and complex areas of securities law, with the goal of providing the structure and resources for the SEC staff to “get smart” about certain products, markets, regulatory regimes, practices and transactions. One of these Specialized Units will be an Asset Management Unit, which will focus on investment advisors, investment companies, hedge funds, and private equity funds. The issues on which the Asset Management Unit will focus include: disclosure, valuation, portfolio performance, due diligence and diversification, transactions with affiliates, misappropriation and conflicts of interest.