SEC Holds Its Annual SEC Speaks Conference

On February 23 and 24, 2018, the SEC held its annual SEC Speaks conference in Washington, D.C. This year's conference was centered around the key themes of accessibility, flexibility and transparency. Senior SEC leadership provided remarks illustrating the SEC's 2017 accomplishments and priorities for 2018 and beyond.

Chairman Jay Clayton delivered opening remarks and reflected on his first year leading the SEC. He emphasized a need to focus on financial institutions as a means of protecting the long-term investments of "main street investors." This year's highlights also included remarks from Division of Enforcement officials, who discussed recent cases as well as priorities for 2018, which are largely concentrated around the areas of cybersecurity, cryptocurrency and retail investment. Robert Cohen, chief of the SEC's new Cyber Unit, described the unit's priorities as well as early success indicators.