42nd Annual Rocky Mountain Securities Conference Today

The Race to the Bottom is covering the 42^nd Rocky Mountain Securities Conference happening today in Denver, Colorado.  We will provide thoughts throughout the day along with more detailed remarks about the issues over the course of the next few days.

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The conference opened with comments by Commissioner Elisse Walter.  Of particular interest, Commissioner Walter expressed her personal feelings that the SEC needs to address the Municipal Securities Market.  The size and increased participation by retail investors in this area dictates that the SEC act to create a more leveled field where, as the Commissioner describes, investors receive second class treatment compared to other regulated areas.  This concern is being addressed in part by the creation of new specialty groups within the SEC, of which Municipal Securities is included. 

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The defense counsel panel discussed changes within the SEC including the current focus of the enforcement division and new developments with Cooperation Agreements, which we will detail at length in a later post.  As for the Enforcement Division’s focus, the panel noted the staff’s concentration on the issues which received national attention during the financial meltdown.  In varying degrees, the panelists worried about the Commission’s preoccupation with finding the next Bernie Maddoff which seems to come at the expense of investigating complex accounting frauds.  The concern is that the SEC will loose its expertise in this area.