Gary Gensler, Biden's pick to lead the SEC, "presided over a period of heightened financial regulation and aggressive enforcement against major financial institutions" at the CFTC, the lawyers write.
The incoming Biden administration will bring a "heightened level of enforcement activity" at the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically concerning investment advisers and broker-dealers, according to just-released analysis by the law firm Gibson Dunn.
In the firm's 2020 Year-End Securities Enforcement Update, which also includes a look ahead to 2021, the firm said to expect the SEC to shift its focus and priorities "away from retail investors and securities offering frauds and an increased emphasis on the conduct of institutional market participants — investment advisers and broker-dealers, as well as public company accounting, financial reporting and disclosure."
In fiscal 2020, the SEC's cases against investment advisors comprised 21% of the agency's total number of cases — a drop from 36% of the total in fiscal 2019.
