inSecurities

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt chat with Kirsten Wegner, CEO of Modern Markets Initiative (“MMI”), about the rise of the retail investor, the role of market makers in promoting fair and efficient markets, and the ubiquity of algorithmic and high-frequency trading. They also learn about MMI’s efforts to promote innovative, competitive, and transparent capital markets. 

On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, marking the “first ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology.” On this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt sit down with experts Carla Carriveau, the Chief Legal Officer of Coi...

Chris & Kurt chat with FINRA’s Deputy Head of Enforcement, Chris Kelly, to learn what it’s like on the front lines of FINRA Enforcement. Chris discusses how FINRA’s role as a self-regulatory organization helps it fulfill its regulatory mandate, what FINRA means when it says its goal is “to get to the right regulatory outcome,” and why member firms facing a potential disciplinary action should actu...

Kurt and Chris welcome back SECI Director George Wilson to cover recent developments in SEC, PCAOB, and FASB news. George gives his take on new PCAOB leadership, goodwill accounting standards reform, recent developments around 10b5-1 plans, and the stock buyback regulations.   Subscribe to the SEC Institute’s Quarterly Newsletter . 

Stephanie Avakian, the head of WilmerHale’s Securities and Financial Services Department and a former Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, talks with Chris and Kurt about changes in tone for the Division of Enforcement, current enforcement priorities, and what she’s watching on the enforcement horizon.

Robinhood is on a mission to “democratize finance for all.” Chris & Kurt sit down with Robinhood’s Deputy General Counsel, Lucas Moskowitz, to talk about Robinhood’s mission, how 2021 changed Robinhood – and the markets – for good, and what regulatory changes Robinhood spies on the horizon. They also have fun with some Robin Hood trivia.

Chris and Kurt sit down with Jesse Eisinger, senior editor at ProPublica, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering the financial markets and the 2008 financial crisis, and author of The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives (2017). Their conversation focuses on reporting in the securities markets, his prophetic (and award-winning) writing about the fall of th...

Ring in the New Year with inSecurities! Guests on the inSecurities podcast keep listeners current on the latest securities regulatory and enforcement developments. On this special New Year’s Eve episode of the podcast, Chris and Kurt visit with past guests at a virtual cocktail party, including SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, Jane Norberg, and professors Daniel Taylor, James Tierney, J.W. Verret,...

In this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt sit down with FINRA Head of Enforcement Jessica Hopper to talk about the role of FINRA Enforcement and several of FINRA’s enforcement priorities – including “finfluencers,” cybersecurity, and complex products – and then bust a few myths about FINRA Enforcement. Tune in to this episode of FINRA’s own podcast, Unscripted, to hear more from...

SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee sits down with Chris & Kurt to share her views on how the Commission might enhance investor protection and increase transparency in private markets and update the ESG disclosure regime to meet the needs and demands of investors . . . along with the benefits of “beautiful accounting footnotes.”   Be sure to read Commissioner Lee’s recent speech, “Going Dark: The...

The SEC’s Division of Enforcement just released its enforcement results for FY2021. On this special episode, Chris and Kurt break down the results with Quinn Emanuel partner, Sarah Heaton Concannon . https://www.pli.edu/insecurities

Nebraska College of Law Professor James F. Tierney explains how many apps incorporate design features — sometimes called “gamification” — to influence investor behavior. Professor Tierney also explores with Chris & Kurt some of the regulatory and policy implications of those design features.  https://www.pli.edu/insecurities    

As a bonus feature, we are sharing an episode of the ACFE’s Fraud Talk podcast entitled “Understanding the Art and “Science” of the Theranos Saga,” on which our very own Chris Ekimoff appeared as a special guest. On the episode, released during International Fraud Awareness Week, Chris and Mandy Moody, CFE, ACFE communications manager, discuss the latest from the trial of former Theranos CEO Eliza...

In October, the SEC released its long anticipated “GameStop Report.” Ty Gellasch, a market plumbing expert and Executive Director of Healthy Markets, gives Chris & Kurt his take on the report.

The securities regulatory and enforcement world was buzzing after PLI’s annual SEC Speaks program. From ESG to SPACs, and from “gamification” to corporate penalties, the conference hit all the hot topics. On this episode of inSecurities, Chris & Kurt share their “Four Big Things” to take away from The SEC Speaks in 2021:  Requiring admissions in SEC enforcement actions; zero tolerance for auditor...

There’s so much to learn at PLI’s 53rd Annual Institute on Securities Regulation! Chris and Kurt sit down with program Co-Chairs Meredith Cross of WilmerHale, Keir Gumbs of Broadridge Financial Solutions, and Carmen Lawrence of King & Spalding to hear what the program has to offer.  Please visit https://www.pli.edu/insecurities for more information.

Whistleblower tips are streaming into the SEC, so it’s critically important for companies to develop effective parallel internal reporting systems. Jane Norberg, a partner at Arnold & Porter who previously served as the Chief of the SEC’s Whistleblower Office, chats with Chris and Kurt about the state of the SEC’s whistleblower program and how companies should encourage, triage and investigate whi...

It’s time to rethink securities law, argues SMU Dedman School of Law Professor Marc Steinberg in his latest book Rethinking Securities Law. There are “many deficiencies and inconsistencies in the current regimen,” he says. Chris and Kurt sit down with Professor Steinberg to discuss his recommendations. Learn more about the book, or purchase online, at via Oxford University Press: https://global.ou...

Chris & Kurt sit down with George Wilson, Director of PLI’s SEC Institute (SECI), to talk about SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s regulatory agenda and priorities, including ESG and other accounting and disclosure hot topics featured in the forthcoming SECI Quarterly Newsletter.  Link to episode page on PLI.edu https://www.pli.edu/insecurities

We’d like to share an episode from PLI’s sister podcast, Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files . Listen as host Alicia Aiken is joined by Indiana pro bono stakeholders Charles R. Dunlap, Judge Melissa S. May, Kelly Tautges and Scott Wylie for an important conversation: “Turning Crisis Into Opportunity.”   Running a pro bono program costs money ‒ and Indiana’s statewide legal services program faced...

Chris & Kurt chat with Wes Bricker, a former Chief Accountant at the SEC and current Vice Chair and Co-Leader of US Trust Solutions at PwC, about how the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant works, perennial accounting hot topics, and emerging issues relating to meme stocks, SPACs and ESG disclosures.

Everyone’s talking about SPACs – and not just in the securities reg world! This week on inSecurities, we dive into special purpose acquisition companies, or “SPACs,” to figure out what they are, how they work, and what they mean for investors and startups looking for a quick route to “go public. | Please take a moment to fill out our listener survey ! Episode page on PLI.edu can be found here

Happy Fourth of July from inSecurities! In this episode, Chris & Kurt reflect on several milestones (including crossing the 10,000 downloads mark!), how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives and practices, and some of our favorite inSecurities guests and episodes.   Love the inSecurities podcast? Don’t forget to rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcast...

Many are eager to see how the SEC will approach investment adviser/broker-dealer regulation and enforcement in the Biden Administration. On this episode of inSecurities, SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw shares her views on how the Commission’s investor protection mission guides her approach to Regulation Best Interest, enforcement, and setting corporate penalties. The Commissioner also offers so...

Kurt chats with Cliff Kirsch of Eversheds Sutherland about the benefits of PLI’s investment adviser and broker-dealer resources, and about Cliff’s many contributions to PLI programs and publications, including the upcoming live webcast Securities Law and Practice 2021: How the SEC Works on June 28.  ----more---- Link to PLI's Broker Dealer Blog Link to product details page for Securities Law and P...