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Fee Rate Advisory #4 for Fiscal Year 2014

Pursuant to Section 31(j)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Commission has determined that a mid-year adjustment to the Section 31 fee rate for fiscal year 2014 is not required.

The Section 31 fee rate for fiscal 2014 will remain at the current rate of $17.40 per million through March 17, 2014, and as previously announced, the rate will change to $22.10 per million starting March 18, 2014.  This rate will remain in place until September 30, 2014 or 60 days after the enactment of a regular FY 2015 appropriation, whichever is later.  The Section 31 assessment on round turn transactions in security futures also will remain at $0.0042 per transaction.

The Commission will issue further notices as appropriate to keep the public informed of developments relating to fees under Section 31.  These notices will be posted at the Commission’s Internet Website at http://www.sec.gov.

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SEC Announces Charges Against Arizona-Based Private Equity Fund Manager in Expense Misallocation Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against an Arizona-based private equity fund manager and his investment advisory firm for orchestrating a scheme to misallocate their expenses to the funds they manage.

The SEC Enforcement Division alleges that Scott A. Brittenham and Clean Energy Capital LLC (CEC) improperly paid more than $3 million of the firm’s expenses by using assets from 19 private equity funds that invest in private ethanol production plants.  CEC and Brittenham did not disclose any such payment arrangement in fund offering documents.  When the funds ran out of cash to pay the firm’s expenses, CEC and Brittenham loaned money to the funds at unfavorable interest rates and unilaterally changed how they calculated investor returns to benefit themselves. 

“Brittenham betrayed investors in the funds he managed by burdening them with more than $3 million in expenses that his firm should have paid and the funds could not afford,” said Marshall S. Sprung, co-chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit.  “Private equity advisers can only charge expenses to their funds when they clearly spell that out for investors.”

According to the SEC’s order instituting administrative proceedings, among the expenses that CEC and Brittenham have been misallocating to the funds are CEC’s rent, salaries, and other employee benefits such as tuition costs, retirement, and bonuses.  Brittenham even used fund assets to pay 70 percent of a $100,000 bonus that he awarded himself.  The money taken from the funds for firm expenses was in addition to millions of dollars in management fees already being paid to CEC out of the funds. 

According to the SEC’s order, the expense misallocation scheme shrank the funds’ cash reserves.  So CEC and Brittenham made unauthorized “loans” to the funds at exorbitant rates as high as 17 percent in order to continue paying the improper expenses with fund assets.  The loans jeopardized the funds because Brittenham had pledged fund assets as collateral.  CEC and Brittenham further profited at the expense of fund investors by making several changes to how CEC calculated distributions to investors in order to pay out less money.  Brittenham also lied to a fund investor about his “skin in the game.”  Brittenham claimed that he and CEC’s co-founder had each invested $100,000 of their own money in one of the funds, but the actual amounts invested were only $25,000 each. 

The SEC’s order alleges that CEC and Brittenham willfully violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and also asserts disclosure, compliance, custody, and reporting violations.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Payam Danialypour and C. Dabney O’Riordan of the Asset Management Unit in the Los Angeles Regional Office and accountant Deborah Russell in Washington D.C.  The SEC’s litigation will be led by Amy Longo, Lynn Dean, and Mr. Danialypour.  The SEC examination that led to the investigation was conducted by Ryan Hinson, Ernest Tang, Daniel Jung, and Thomas Mackin of the Los Angeles office’s investment adviser/investment company examination program.

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SEC Charges Wall Street Investment Banker With Insider Trading in Former Girlfriend’s Account to Pay Child Support

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an emergency action against a New York City-based investment banker charged with insider trading for nearly $1 million in illicit profits.

The SEC alleges that while working on Wall Street, Frank “Perk” Hixon Jr. regularly logged into the brokerage account of Destiny “Nicole” Robinson, the mother of his young child.  He executed trades based on confidential information he obtained on the job, sometimes within minutes of learning it.  Illegal trades also were made in his father’s brokerage account.  When his firm confronted him about the trading conducted in these accounts, Hixon Jr. pretended not to recognize the names of his father or his child’s mother.  However, text messages between Hixon Jr. and Robinson suggest he was generating the illegal proceeds in lieu of formal child support payments.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Hixon Jr.

“Hixon Jr. violated the trust of his employer and clients by abusing his special access to nonpublic market-moving information,” said David Woodcock, director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.  “Hixon Jr. went to great lengths to hide his wrongdoing and even denied knowing his father or the mother of his child.”

A federal judge has granted the SEC’s request and issued an emergency order freezing Robinson’s brokerage account, which the SEC alleges contains the majority of proceeds from Hixon Jr.’s illegal trading with a balance of approximately $1.2 million. 

According to the SEC’s complaint unsealed today in federal court in Austin, Texas, Hixon Jr. illegally tipped or traded in the securities of three public companies.  He traded ahead of several major announcements by his client Westway Group in 2011 and 2012.  He traded based on nonpublic information he learned about potential client Titanium Metals Corporation ahead of its merger announcement in November 2012.  And Hixon even illegally traded in the securities of his own firm Evercore Partners prior to its announcement of record earnings in January 2013.  Hixon Jr. generated illegal insider trading profits of at least $950,000. 

According to the SEC’s complaint, when Hixon Jr.’s employer asked him in 2013 whether he knew anything about suspicious trading in accounts belonging to Destiny Robinson and his father Frank P. Hixon Sr., who lives in suburban Atlanta, Hixon Jr. denied recognizing either name.  When later confronted with information that he did in fact know these individuals, Hixon Jr. continued his false claims, saying he didn’t know Robinson as “Destiny” and asserting in a sworn declaration that when approached he didn’t recognize the name of the city where his father lived for more than 25 years.  Hixon Jr. was subsequently terminated by his employer.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Hixon Jr. violated the antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  In addition to the asset freeze, the complaint seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.  Hixon Sr. and Robinson have been named as relief defendants for the purposes of recovering the illegal trading profits held in their accounts.

The SEC’s investigation has been conducted by Tamara McCreary, Ty Martinez, and Jonathan Scott of the Fort Worth Regional Office.  The SEC’s litigation will be led by Timothy Evans and David Reece.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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Credit Suisse Agrees to Pay $196 Million and Admits Wrongdoing in Providing Unregistered Services to U.S. Clients

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group AG for violating the federal securities laws by providing cross-border brokerage and investment advisory services to U.S. clients without first registering with the SEC.

Credit Suisse agreed to pay $196 million and admit wrongdoing to settle the SEC’s charges.

According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, Credit Suisse provided cross-border securities services to thousands of U.S. clients and collected fees totaling approximately $82 million without adhering to the registration provisions of the federal securities laws.  Credit Suisse relationship managers traveled to the U.S. to solicit clients, provide investment advice, and induce securities transactions.  These relationship managers were not registered to provide brokerage or advisory services, nor were they affiliated with a registered entity.  The relationship managers also communicated with clients in the U.S. through overseas e-mails and phone calls.

“The broker-dealer and investment adviser registration provisions are core protections for investors,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “As Credit Suisse admitted as part of the settlement, its employees for many years failed to comply with these requirements, and the firm took far too long to achieve compliance.”

According to the SEC’s order, Credit Suisse began conducting cross-border advisory and brokerage services for U.S. clients as early as 2002, amassing as many as 8,500 U.S. client accounts that contained an average total of $5.6 billion in securities assets.  The relationship managers made approximately 107 trips to the U.S. during a seven-year period and provided broker-dealer and advisory services to hundreds of clients they visited.  Credit Suisse was aware of the registration requirements of the federal securities laws and undertook initiatives designed to prevent such violations.  These initiatives largely failed, however, because they were not effectively implemented or monitored.

“As a multinational firm with a significant U.S. presence, Credit Suisse was well aware of the steps that a firm needs to take to legally conduct advisory or brokerage business with U.S. clients,” said Scott W. Friestad, an associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “Credit Suisse failed to effectively implement internal controls designed to keep its employees from crossing the line and being non-compliant with the federal securities laws.”

According to the SEC’s order, it was not until after a much-publicized civil and criminal investigation into similar conduct by Swiss-based UBS that Credit Suisse began to take steps in October 2008 to exit the business of providing cross-border advisory and brokerage services to U.S. clients.  Although the number of U.S. client accounts decreased beginning in 2009 and the majority were closed or transferred by 2010, it took Credit Suisse until mid-2013 to completely exit the cross-border business as the firm continued to collect broker-dealer and investment adviser fees on some accounts.

The SEC’s order finds that Credit Suisse willfully violated Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 203(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  Credit Suisse admitted the facts in the SEC’s order, acknowledged that its conduct violated the federal securities laws, accepted a censure and a cease-and-desist order, and agreed to retain an independent consultant.  Credit Suisse agreed to pay $82,170,990 in disgorgement, $64,340,024 in prejudgment interest, and a $50 million penalty.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by senior attorneys David S. Karp and Matthew R. Estabrook under the supervision of assistant director Laura B. Josephs and associate director Scott W. Friestad.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

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Division of Trading And Markets Acting Director John Ramsay to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that John Ramsay, acting director of the Division of Trading and Markets, will leave the agency next month after three and a half years of leadership and service. Mr. Ramsay, who was appointed deputy director of the division in September 2010 and has served as acting director since December 2012, plans to return to the private sector. The SEC separately today named Stephen Luparello as the division’s director.

Mr. Ramsay has led numerous significant rulemaking initiatives, including the adoption of the Volcker Rule and rules to implement the derivatives reform provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  He also has led the division’s response to significant market events, its participation in global regulatory initiatives, and its development and implementation of analytical tools for market oversight.

“John has provided exceptionally effective leadership during one of the most dynamic periods in the division’s history,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White.  “He has served as a trusted advisor as the Commission navigated through complex rulemakings and significant market events.  I will miss his sound judgment and the wise counsel he brings to bear daily on behalf of investors and our markets.” 

Mr. Ramsay said, “I am privileged to have worked with a first-rate team of colleagues in Trading and Markets and throughout the agency during this period of unprecedented activity and change in the regulation of financial markets.  I am immensely grateful to the staff of the division for their friendship and unfailing support.  I am also pleased that my friend Steve Luparello has agreed to lead the division going forward, and I know that he will be a great steward as the division confronts the many challenges that lie ahead.”

Mr. Ramsay has led the division’s efforts on rulemaking initiatives under the Dodd-Frank Act, including the Volcker rule to prohibit proprietary trading by banks.  In the area of derivatives reform, he oversaw the development of proposed comprehensive rules for the cross-border regulatory treatment of derivatives transactions, as well as rules for security-based swap data repositories and execution facilities, trade reporting and dissemination, capital, margin, and customer segregation requirements for security-based swap dealers, and clearing requirements.

Among other accomplishments, Mr. Ramsay:

  • Oversaw staff efforts leading to the designation by the Financial Stability Oversight Council of certain systemically important clearing agencies and the Commission’s adoption of new clearing agency governance, operation, and risk management standards
  • Led staff development of proposed rules to strengthen governance and internal controls of registered credit rating agencies and require greater disclosure about individual ratings and rating performance.  The Commission also adopted measures under Mr. Ramsay’s leadership to remove reliance on ratings from Commission rules pertaining to broker-dealer financial responsibility.
  • Led the proposal of Regulation SCI, which would establish heightened technology controls for exchanges and other key market participants.  Mr. Ramsay also oversaw implementation of “limit up/limit down” volatility limits by national securities exchanges and the further development of a national market system plan for a consolidated audit trail for the equity markets. 
  • Led the establishment of an Office of Analytics and Research, which has implemented new technology tools to aggregate and analyze consolidated order and transaction data and has established a new market structure website that publicly disseminates information drawn from this data, as well as studies and other information pertinent to equity market reform.

Also during Mr. Ramsay’s service as acting director, the Commission adopted measures to update and strengthen broker-dealer financial responsibility rules and new audit, reporting, and custody rules for registered broker-dealers. He also led the development of proposed rule amendments to strengthen the capital and liquidity requirements that apply to the largest, systemically important broker-dealers.  In addition, the division restructured in a single office the functions related to risk oversight of broker-dealers. 

Mr. Ramsay has played a leading role in the Commission’s response to significant market events, including the U.S. debt downgrade and the failure of MF Global in 2011, the losses suffered by Knight Capital Group in 2012, and an outage affecting the Nasdaq securities information processor in August of 2013.  Following the Nasdaq outage, he led staff efforts to oversee actions by exchanges to strengthen critical market infrastructure.

Mr. Ramsay has also played a leading role in important international and interagency initiatives. These include the OTC Derivatives Regulators Group and the BIS-IOSCO Working Group on Margining Requirements.  He also has participated actively on a working group of the Financial Stability Oversight Council considering the potential designation of certain non-bank financial entities.

Mr. Ramsay previously worked for the Commission from 1989-1994 in the Division of Market Regulation and as Counsel to then Acting Chairman Mary Schapiro, and has also held key positions at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers, now FINRA.  He has also worked as a partner in private law practice, as a senior officer at the Bond Market Association, and as Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel at Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.  He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan, and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

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Stephen Luparello Named as Director of SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has named Stephen Luparello as director of its Division of Trading and Markets.

Mr. Luparello comes to the SEC from the law firm of WilmerHale, where he has been a partner in its Washington, D.C. office, specializing in broker-dealer compliance and regulation, securities litigation, and enforcement.  Mr. Luparello joined WilmerHale after a 16-year career at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and its predecessor, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), where he most recently served as Vice Chairman of FINRA.

“The agency will greatly benefit from Steve’s knowledge, leadership and insight,” said Chair Mary Jo White.  “He is an experienced market regulator and well positioned to lead the division as we continue to fulfill the Commission’s mission.”

“Throughout my career I have been enormously impressed by the talent and dedication of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets,” Mr. Luparello said.  “I look forward to working with Chair White, the Commissioners, and SEC staff to address the opportunities and challenges of today’s markets.” 

The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets establishes and maintains standards for fair, orderly, and efficient markets.  The division regulates the major securities market participants, including broker-dealers, credit rating agencies, transfer agents, and self-regulatory organizations such as stock exchanges, FINRA, and clearing agencies.

As FINRA’s Vice Chairman, Mr. Luparello was responsible for its examination, enforcement, market regulation, international, and disclosure programs.  He played a key role in the creation of FINRA’s Office of the Whistleblower and its Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence, and led the development of its Order Audit Trail System (OATS) and SONAR, technology used to monitor securities markets and detect suspicious trading.

Mr. Luparello joined the NASD in 1996 as vice president in the Office of Disciplinary Policy and was named head of its Market Regulation Department in 1999.  Prior to that, Mr. Luparello was the chief of staff to then-CFTC Chairman Mary Schapiro.  He spent nine years at the SEC, serving as branch chief in the Office of Inspections in the Division of Market Regulation, now the Division of Trading and Markets.

Mr. Luparello received his B.A. from LeMoyne College in 1981 and his law degree from Washington and Lee University in 1984.  He will succeed John Ramsay, who announced today that he is departing the agency after three and half years at the SEC, serving as acting director of Division of Trading and Markets since December 2012. 

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SEC Charges Three California Residents Behind Movie Investment Scam

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three California residents with defrauding investors in a purported multi-million dollar movie project that would supposedly star well-known actors and generate exorbitant investment returns.

The SEC alleges that Los Angeles-based attorney Samuel Braslau was the architect of the fraudulent scheme that raised money through a boiler room operation spearheaded by Rand Chortkoff of Encino, Calif.  High-pressure salespeople including Stuart Rawitt persuaded more than 60 investors nationwide to invest a total of $1.8 million in the movie first titled Marcel and later changed to The Smuggler.  Investors were falsely told that actors ranging from Donald Sutherland to Jean-Claude Van Damme would appear in the movie when in fact they were never even approached.  Instead of using investor funds for movie production expenses as promised, Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt have spent most of the money among themselves.  The investor funds that remain aren’t enough to produce a public service announcement let alone a full-length motion picture capable of securing the theatrical release promised to investors.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California today announced criminal charges against Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt. 

“Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt sold investors on the Hollywood dream,” said Michele Wein Layne, director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office.  “But the dream never became a reality because they took investors’ money for themselves rather than using it to make a movie.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Braslau set up companies named Mutual Entertainment LLC and Film Shoot LLC to raise funds from investors for the movie project.  In January 2011, Mutual Entertainment spent $25,000 to purchase the rights to Marcel, an unpublished story set in Paris during World War II.  Shortly thereafter, Mutual Entertainment began raising money from investors through a boiler room operation that Chortkoff operated out of Van Nuys, Calif.  

The SEC alleges that Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt claimed that 63.5 percent of the funds raised from investors would be used for “production expenses.”  However, very little if any money was actually spent on movie expenses as they instead used the vast majority of investor funds to pay sales commissions and phony “consulting” fees to themselves and other salespeople.  Rawitt made numerous false claims to investors about the movie project.  For instance, he flaunted a baseless projected return on investment of about 300 percent.  He falsely depicted that they were just shy of reaching a $7.5 million fundraising goal and the movie was set to begin shooting in summer 2013.  He instilled the belief that Mutual Entertainment was a successful film company whose track record encompassed the Harold and Kumar movies produced by Carsten Lorenz.  And he falsely stated that investors would realize revenues from action figures and other products tied to the movie when in fact no such licensing rights had been sold.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Rawitt was the subject of a prior SEC enforcement action in 2009, when he was charged for his involvement in an oil-and-gas scheme.

“Investors can help protect themselves when approached for an investment opportunity by using the Internet to their advantage and researching the individual making the offer,” said Lori Schock, director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.  “In this case, a quick search of the SEC website reveals a copy of the complaint filed against Rawitt in federal court for participating in an offering fraud as well as an order barring him from the brokerage industry.”

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5.  The complaint further alleges that Chortkoff and Rawitt violated Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act, and Rawitt violated Section 15(b)(6)(B) of the Exchange Act.  The SEC seeks financial penalties and permanent injunctions against Braslau, Chortkoff, and Rawitt.

The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Peter Del Greco and Marc Blau of the Los Angeles office.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.    

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SEC Announces Initiative Directed at Never-Before Examined Registered Investment Advisers

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) is launching an initiative directed at investment advisers that have never been examined, focusing on those that have been registered with the SEC for three or more years.  OCIE previously announced that examining these advisers is a priority in 2014.

As part of the initiative, OCIE will conduct examinations of a significant percentage of advisers that have not been examined since they registered with the SEC.  These examinations will concentrate on the advisers’ compliance programs, filings and disclosure, marketing, portfolio management, and safekeeping of client assets.  Additional details on the examinations are available here.

“Our examinations will focus on areas most important to protecting investors,” said Jane Jarcho, national associate director of OCIE’s Investment Adviser/Investment Company examination program. “We will also promote compliance by engaging with these advisers through outreach efforts.”

Starting later this year, OCIE will invite SEC-registered investment advisers who have yet to be examined to attend regional meetings where they can learn more about the examination process.  Advisers also can find information regarding their obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and other useful guidance on the SEC’s website.

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SEC Names Sharon Binger as Director of Philadelphia Regional Office

The Securities and Exchange Commission today named Sharon B. Binger as director of the Philadelphia Regional Office, where she will oversee enforcement and examinations in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Ms. Binger joined the SEC’s Enforcement Division in 2008 has been an assistant regional director in the New York office since 2011.

Ms. Binger has handled enforcement cases ranging from offering frauds and insider trading to trading suspensions in microcap stocks.  She led the SEC’s investigation into Total S.A. for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, which resulted in one of the largest-ever FCPA settlements.  Ms. Binger also has collaborated closely with the SEC’s National Exam Program, pursuing multiple referrals from examiners that led to enforcement actions.

“Sharon combines careful lawyering with infectious enthusiasm,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “She has distinguished herself with her excellent judgment, and I am pleased that she has agreed to lead the Philadelphia office.”

Andrew J. Bowden, director of the SEC’s National Exam Program, added, “Sharon has a strong track record of protecting investors.  She also has built effective working relationships with her colleagues in the exam program and across the Commission, and she will be a superb leader of our experienced exam team in Philadelphia.”

Ms. Binger said, “I am honored and thrilled to have been selected to serve as the head of the Philadelphia office, which has an outstanding record of accomplishments in the exam and enforcement arenas.  I look forward to leading the office’s dedicated and talented professionals.”

Ms. Binger earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in 1998 and her law degree with honors from Duke University School of Law in 2001.  She was an associate in the litigation department of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York from 2001 to 2008. 

Ms. Binger succeeds Daniel M. Hawke, who announced last fall that he was stepping down as regional director to concentrate his efforts on leading the Enforcement Division’s nationwide Market Abuse Unit.

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CCO Forum Presentation – Business Continuity Risk Alerts

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Elizabeth Murphy Named as Associate Director in the Division of Corporation Finance

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Elizabeth Murphy has been named an associate director in its Division of Corporation Finance. 

For the past five years, Ms. Murphy has served as the Secretary of the Commission, heading the office that prepares, reviews, and maintains records of Commission action and advises the Commission and the SEC staff on administrative practices and procedures.  From 2000 to 2009, she was the chief of the Division of Corporation Finance’s Office of Rulemaking, which plays a leading role in rulemaking projects undertaken by the division.

In her new role, Ms. Murphy will oversee the work of three offices within the division: the Office of Rulemaking, Office of Small Business Policy, and Office of Enforcement Liaision.  The Office of Small Business Policy coordinates the division’s activities involving smaller public companies and limited, private, and intrastate securities offerings.  The division’s Office of Enforcement Liaison coordinates with the Division of Enforcement on investigative matters, including those involving corporations that are delinquent in filing quarterly, annual, and other reports. 

“I am excited to welcome Betsy back to the division, and look forward to her leadership in this new role,” said Keith Higgins, director of the Division of Corporation Finance.  “Betsy’s strong relationships with staff inside and outside of the division, including with Commissioners and their counsel, will serve the agency extremely well in her new role.  Her deep knowledge of the securities laws and the Commission’s rulemaking processes will also strengthen our ability to ensure the effective implementation of the rules required by the Dodd-Frank Act and the JOBS Act.”

Ms. Murphy first joined the division in 1986 as an attorney-advisor and was promoted to special counsel in 1987.  She was made a special counsel in the division’s Office of the Chief Counsel in 1996 and later served as counsel to Commissioner Laura S. Unger.  As chief of the division’s Office of Rulemaking, she oversaw teams working on numerous rules, including many required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Ms. Murphy received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1982 and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1985.

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SEC to Hold Cybersecurity Roundtable

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will host a roundtable next month to discuss cybersecurity and the issues and challenges it raises for market participants and public companies, and how they are addressing those concerns. 

The growing interest in cybersecurity across financial markets and other sectors has raised questions about how various market participants can effectively manage cybersecurity threats.  Cybersecurity breaches have focused public attention on how public companies disclose cybersecurity threats and incidents. 

The roundtable will be held at the SEC’s Washington, D.C. headquarters on March 26 and will be open to the public and webcast live on the SEC’s website.  Information on the agenda and participants will be published in the coming weeks.   

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