inSecurities

Award-winning journalist Diana Henriques has spent her career covering financial markets, white collar crime, and market regulation. She joins Kurt and Chris to discuss her recent book, Taming the Street: The Old Guard, the New Deal, and FDR’s Fight to Regulate American Capitalism, which chronicles the decade following the 1929 stock market crash, and the men in government and in the markets who fought to provide the framework for financial regulation that we still utilize today.

In April 2024, the SEC prevailed on insider trading charges against Matthew Panuwat, relying for the first time on a theory known as “shadow trading.” Nick Morgan of ICAN and Steve Cazares of Orrick join the inSecurities Podcast to discuss an amicus brief ICAN submitted in the Panuwat litigation, policy arguments against the “shadow trading” theory of liability, and the future of “shadow trading” cases for the SEC and DOJ.

George Wilson, Director of PLI’s SEC Institute (SECI), joins the inSecurities podcast — for a record ninth time! — to discuss highlights from the recent SECI Quarterly Newsletter (sign up HERE), including the SEC’s final climate disclosure and SPAC accounting rules, and recent developments at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

Check out this recap of PLI’s program, the SEC Speaks in 2024, which Chris attended in-person in Washington DC. He provides his thoughts on the topics discussed by SEC staff as a part of the program, as well as conducting some on-the-street interviews with attendees and PLI staff. You can learn more about the program at the link below, as well as see the printed copy of SEC Commissioner remarks at the SEC website. https://www.pli.edu/programs/the-sec-speaks?t=live https://www.sec.gov/news/speeches-statements

Dr. Kelly Richmond-Pope has been a thought leader in the forensic accounting space for more than a decade. She joins Chris to discuss her accounting origin story, her academic research as a professor at DePaul University in Chicago, and her side gigs as a filmmaker and author, having produced and directed the 2013 documentary All the Queen’s Horses about fraud in Dixon, Illinois, and her 2023 book Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry. For more about Dr. Richmond-Pope’s work, see the links below: https://www.kellyrichmondpope.com/ https://www.allthequeenshorsesfilm.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Fool-Me-Once-Trillion-Dollar-Industry/dp/1647823919

Matt Walsh, Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures, a venture capital firm focused exclusively on public blockchains, joins the inSecurities podcast to talk about the regulatory landscape and market structure challenges for entrepreneurs who are building #blockchain infrastructure and application companies. Matt also tells Chris and Kurt about his podcast, On the Brink, which explores the political, ethical, and economic significance of #Bitcoin and other public blockchains.

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt tackle commodities enforcement. Jamie McDonald, a Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and a former Director of Enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Avi Perry, a Partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and a former Chief of the Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit in the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, offer their perspectives on civil and criminal commodities investigations and enforcement. Jamie and Avi explain how they helped shape the CFTC and DOJ enforcement programs, how the agencies coordinate on enforcement matters, and what count among the current commodities enforcement priorities for the CFTC and DOJ.

Check out our inSecurities hosts Chris Ekimoff and Kurt Wolfe as guests on this special episode of Boxes and Lines from IEX Exchange.

Josh Rubin, Vice President of Legal at Betterment, joins the inSecurities podcast to discuss Betterment’s view of the regulatory landscape. Josh explains how Betterment navigates the sometimes overlapping rules and regulations of the SEC, FINRA, DOL, IRS, FDIC, and CFPB — then tells Chris and Kurt why Betterment doesn't always line up with the rest of the financial services industry when it comes to rulemaking proposals.

Anne Kelley joins the inSecurities Podcast to unpack the federal agency appropriations process. Anne is a Partner at the legislative consulting firm, Mercury Strategies. Before joining Mercury Strategies, Anne served as a political appointee at the SEC where her work spanned five Administrations and nine SEC Chairs and Acting Chairs. On this episode, Anne explains to Chris and Kurt how most federal agencies obtain government funding, and why the SEC’s budget-setting process is unique.

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt chat with Martha Legg Miller, the Vice President of Public Policy and Regulatory Strategy at Fidelity Investments and former Director of the SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation. Martha talks about the role of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, highlights key takeaways from the Office’s 2023 Annual Report, and discusses recent SEC rulemaking proposals, including the Predictive Data Analytics (PDA) and Climate Risk Disclosure rules.

Perianne Boring, the Founder and CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, joins the inSecurities Podcast to explain why 2024 will be “the year crypto goes mainstream.” Chris, Kurt, and Perianne chat about the history and mission of The Chamber, the digital assets crypto and regulatory environment, and Perianne’s 2024 outlook for crypto.

Brett Redfearn, a former Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and the Founder and CEO of Panorama Financial Markets Advisory, joins the inSecurities podcast to discuss the Commission’s approach to rulemaking and its recent Predictive Data Analytics (PDA) rule proposal.

On this episode of the inSecurities Podcast, Chris sits down with investigative reporter Zeke Faux to talk about his book Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.

Quinn Emanuel partners Michael Liftik, Sarah Heaton Concannon, and Dabney O’Riordan join this special episode of the inSecurities Podcast to unpack the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Annual Report, which was released on November 14, 2023. Kurt and the expert panel discuss the Division’s motivation to post impressive enforcement statistics and grab headlines with high impact cases. The panel also discusses programmatic priorities, including perennial focus areas like investment adviser cases, and results in litigated matters.

Vinson & Elkins partner Rebecca Fike joins the inSecurities podcast to talk about insider trading, the SEC’s use of artificial intelligence and data analytics to root out misconduct, and the Enforcement Division’s focus on reporting and disclosure cases, including Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting. She also explains how the Commission’s focus on charging even technical violations feels a bit like the return of the “broken windows” approach to enforcement. Rebecca draws on her 10 years of experience in the Division of Enforcement to explain what captures the staff’s attention and how they investigate.

Miller & Chevalier Partner Sandra Hanna returns to the inSecurities podcast to discuss key takeaways from the Securities Enforcement Forum 2023. Sandra and Kurt talk about SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s remarks at the conference, which covered the SEC’s annual enforcement results, crypto enforcement, and the SEC whistleblower program. They also dive into the important topic of self-reporting: When, why, and how to do it.

After their discussion on CFTC enforcement, Kurt and CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham discussed the current state of crypto regulation in the United States and the CFTC’s role in policing the digital assets marketplace. Tune in for the second installment of Commissioner Pham’s interview on the inSecurities podcast. For more insights from Commissioner Pham on crypto regulation: speaking ordersself-reporting and cooperationmanagement accountabilityexamination by enforcement“insider trading” in derivatives marketsadministrative enforcement proceedingsleadership and ethics

Commissioner Caroline D. Pham of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission joins Kurt on the inSecurities podcast to talk about the CFTC’s regulatory mandate, the role of CFTC enforcement, and the perils of what she calls “examination by enforcement.” Among other things, Commissioner Pham stresses the deterrent effect of holding wrongdoers accountable, the need for regulatory clarity (particularly when regulators test novel enforcement theories), and the importance of upholding the CFTC’s jurisdiction. Tune in for the second installment of this two-part episode to hear Commissioner Pham’s views on crypto regulation. For more insights from Commissioner Pham on CFTC enforcement: speaking ordersself-reporting and cooperationmanagement accountabilityexamination by enforcement“insider trading” in derivatives marketsadministrative enforcement proceedingsleadership and ethics

They’ve been waiting all year long just to talk to George. On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt sit down again with SEC Institute Director George Wilson to discuss recent SEC reporting, compliance, and accounting developments, including recent signals from the SEC’s Chief Accountant Paul Munter, the state of play in crypto accounting, developments in the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, and — just in time for Halloween — new C&DIs in the CorpFin candy dish. Plus, Chris adds a new acronym to the inSecurities lexicon: SALY (Same As Last Year).