inSecurities

After five years and 138 episodes, Chris, Kurt, and PLI have decided to wind down the inSecurities podcast.  On behalf of all of us on the inSecurities team, thanks for listening. We appreciate the dedicated listeners and guests who have shaped these conversations for five years! Every other week, we aimed to bring you insightful discussions with leaders and experts in securities regulation and en...

We are fielding many questions about what regulatory and enforcement priorities will emerge in the next administration. On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt look back at several episodes from 2024 to see how they might help us understand what lies ahead. In particular, Chris and Kurt consider: What will become of the SEC? Will there be any changes in tone or priorities at th...

Former SEC Director of Enforcement Gurbir Grewal joins the inSecurities podcast to discuss the Division of Enforcement’s Annual Results for Fiscal Year 2024. He delves into the enforcement priorities that are expected to continue into the next administration, as well as new priorities that may emerge. Additionally, Gurbir reflects on his legacy as the former Director of Enforcement.

Chris and Kurt returned to Securities Docket's Securities Enforcement Forum to catch up on the latest developments and trends in the SEC enforcement space. On this episode of inSecurities they share key takeaways from a panel that focused on the impact of the Presidential election, a keynote address from Acting Director of Enforcement Sanjay Wadhwa, and more.

Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Reporter for the New York Times, joins the inSecurities Podcast to talk about recent SCOTUS decisions that impact the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other administrative agencies, including a look at how the fall of Chevron will impact administrative agencies in the near term. Related CLE Program: You may also be interested in 26th Annual Supreme Court Revie...

We revisit a favorite topic here on the inSecurities podcast — Ponzi schemes — but with a practicing attorney and author who literally wrote the book on Ponzi: Kathy Phelps, partner at Raines Feldman Littrell LLP. Chris and Kurt discuss some of the more technical aspects of the law and accounting that come into play after a Ponzi scheme has collapsed, and the issues that result regarding recovery,...

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt visit again with George Wilson, Director of PLI’s SEC Institute, to discuss highlights from the SECI Quarterly Newsletter. George highlights key takeaways from PCAOB’s 2023 inspection reports, CorpFin’s statements on cybersecurity incident disclosures, litigation challenging the SEC’s climate-related disclosure rules, recent SEC whistlebl...

With Kurt absent this week, Chris discusses current developments at the SEC with Sandra Hanna, who leads the securities enforcement practice at Steptoe. They discuss the short term impacts of Jarkesy, how 102(e) actions are evolving in real-time, the state of ESG enforcement after the disbanding of the Task Force, and what the SEC might look like in 2025.

Chris and Kurt sit down with Erica Williams, Chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Chair Williams talks about her journey to the Chair’s office, the PCAOB’s rulemaking agenda, and the role of PCAOB inspections and enforcement. She also shares key takeaways from the PCAOB’s Sign up for email updates on the inSecurities podcast as well as PLI’s securities related programs a...

In this special crossover episode with PLI’s Pursuing Justice podcast, hear about how pro bono clinics can help vulnerable investors protect their hard-earned retirement funds and nest eggs. Chris and Kurt are joined by Alicia Aiken, Director of the Danu Center’s Confidentiality Institute and host of PLI’s podcast Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files, for an informative conversation with law profe...

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt sit down with Cliff Kirsch, a partner at Eversheds Sutherland and Chair of the PLI program “The SEC at 90: A Celebration and Retrospective.” Cliff shares some of his key takeaways from this half-day PLI program aimed at celebrating the past, examining the present, and looking to the future of the SEC. Among other topics, Chris, Kurt, and...

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt discuss recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that will have profound impacts for the SEC and other agencies. First, our co-hosts discuss the Jarkesy case, which held that defendants in SEC enforcement proceedings have a Constitutional right to have fraud cases heard by a jury. Next, Chris and Kurt discuss Loper Bright, which overrules the...

This episode of the inSecurities podcast features a roundtable with pro bono experts who discuss the need for law school clinics that represent retail investors in FINRA arbitrations. Nicole Iannarone, Associate Professor of Law at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, and Christine Lazaro, Professor of Clinical Legal Education and Director of the Securities Arbitration Clinic at St. Jo...

SEC Chair Gary Gensler joins the inSecurities podcast to talk about how he and the Commission engage with the public, his efforts to build trust in the US capital markets, and the role of the SEC in protecting investors. Chair Gensler also discusses the SEC’s role with respect to cryptocurrencies (or “digital asset securities”) and tells us why US investors should be wary of “AI washing.”

Erik Hotmire, Co-Founder of the consulting firm Watermark Strategies, joins the inSecurities podcast to discuss key characteristics of successful corporate affairs strategies. Erik tells Chris and Kurt how he draws on his experience as former spokesperson and Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the SEC in developing bespoke strategies for clients, and how the game has changed from a stakeholder enga...

Alex Platt, an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, joins the inSecurities podcast to discuss his latest research paper , which documents the involvement of activist short sellers in the SEC whistleblower bounty program. Professor Platt explains why this phenomenon may undermine the SEC’s goal of rooting out and deterring misconduct, and he proposes modest tweaks to the w...

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 f...

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”...

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...

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...

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 poli...

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 Divi...

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...