SEC Enforcement Director Stresses Integrity and Effective Action in Capital Markets at A.A. Sommer Lecture

Statement Summary

This press release features remarks from the Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement at the A.A. Sommer Lecture, emphasizing the integrity of capital markets and the necessity for effective enforcement. The SEC’s recent enforcement report outlines 348 actions taken, resulting in $1.1 billion in relief for investors. While acknowledging a decline in cases due to various factors, the Director stresses the importance of focusing on the effectiveness of enforcement over sheer numbers. Key initiatives discussed include a revamped Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit and improved analytical tools to enhance detection of misconduct. The Director asserts the SEC's commitment to protecting investors while evolving alongside market changes, ensuring fairness, and promoting accountability. Ultimately, the address connects with Commissioner Sommer's legacy of fostering market integrity through consistent enforcement.

Original Statement

Thank you for that kind introduction. I am pleased to be here at Fordham Law School for the A.A. Sommer Lecture. I want to thank the SEC Historical Society, Morgan Lewis, and everyone who helped organize for making this such an important and lasting event. It is an honor to participate in a program named for Al Sommer, whose service to the Commission helped shape our modern securities markets. As a former practicing CPA, I’d be remiss not to recognize his commitment to the integrity of the accounting profession and his distinguished service as Chairman of the Public Oversight Board.

Commissioner Sommer understood that strong capital markets depend on investor confidence, that investor confidence depends on market integrity, and that effective enforcement is an indispensable link in that chain. A lot has changed in our capital markets since he served on the Commission, but the principles that Commissioner Sommer promoted endure.

Before I begin, allow me to share the standard disclaimer: I am speaking today in my official capacity as Director of the Division of Enforcement, but the views I express are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Commission, the Commissioners, or my colleagues on the staff.

Enforcement Report Overview

Earlier today, the Commission released its annual enforcement report. I will begin with a brief discussion of what the report reveals about the year behind. But, since you are free to read the report, the metrics included, and our supporting discussion on your own, I will focus my remarks on the path ahead for the Enforcement Division, and why I am confident in our direction.

On the numbers: in fiscal year 2026, the Commission filed 348 enforcement actions, including 235 standalone actions and 113 follow-on proceedings. The SEC obtained orders for approximately $1.1 billion in monetary relief and returned $731 million to harmed investors. The Commission also instituted 13 trading suspensions in response to suspected manipulation involving Asia-based issuers, and sought individual accountability in approximately two-thirds of our standalone actions.

Effectiveness Over Numbers

These figures offer those we serve – the investing public – as well as Congress and other stakeholders, a glimpse into our enforcement program and stewardship of public resources. The numbers are important because the enforcement actions underneath them reflect the excellent work of an extraordinary staff.

But activity and effectiveness are not the same. Case counts are relevant, but alone they cannot tell us whether a fraud was stopped before more investors were harmed; whether voluntary remediation addressed an issue before it metastasized and did not result in a case being brought; or whether visible enforcement is successfully deterring misconduct. Even a large judgment does not tell us whether money reached the harmed investors. Those distinctions are of great consequence—and they belong in any intellectually honest and holistic assessment of our effectiveness.

Future Directions

This brings me to my central message: we have all the pieces in place for an enforcement program of the highest caliber. A program that is effective, modern, and exacting. And one that is worthy of the investors we serve.

Specifically, these pieces I’ll touch on this evening are purpose, capability, modernization, coordination, and execution.

Key Components of the Enforcement Program

First, on purpose. Our purpose is to protect investors, and our priorities are clear—misconduct that harms investors, degrades market integrity, or both. That includes fraud in all its forms, market manipulation, insider trading, financial reporting misconduct, and abuses of investor trust, among other frauds.

Our new Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit brings together lawyers and accountants to investigate complex reporting misconduct. Our Retail Fraud Working Group brings concentrated attention and analytical tools to schemes targeting everyday investors. And our reorganized Trial Unit strengthens our litigation capacity.

The second piece of our program is capability, backed by the ability to litigate. Our Enforcement staff are second to none and over the years, as Commissioner Sommer said in 1996, the staff “has never lacked in courage,” and has “done more to raise the moral level of the marketplace than any other institution, public or private, in the United States.

The third piece in place is modernization. With today’s rapidly changing technology, we must keep pace with the markets and those who seek to exploit them. For this reason, our new Office of Super Intelligence & Analytics is designed to bring advanced analytical tools directly into investigative work.

The fourth piece of our program is coordination. Our Cross-Border Task Force, for example, is already coordinating with domestic and foreign authorities to strengthen transnational enforcement.

Not least of all, the fifth piece of our program is disciplined, fair execution. Executing on our mission does not mean imposing arbitrary deadlines or sacrificing rigor. It means recognizing that delay has consequences, both for investors who may remain vulnerable and for people and businesses under investigation.

Conclusion

Let me close where I began: with the legacy of Al Sommer. Commissioner Sommer understood that the strength of our securities markets depends on public confidence in their fairness and integrity. That confidence is earned through the consistent application of the law, the willingness to confront serious misconduct, and the integrity of the institutions charged with protecting investors.

Today, the pieces aligned with those principles are in place. And we are putting them to work—case by case, decision by decision—to continue delivering an enforcement program that is worthy of the investors we serve.

And now, Carolyn, I look forward to our conversation. Thank you.