SEC’s 2027 Exam Priorities: Key Topics For Asset Managers

The SEC’s Division of Examinations (“EXAMS”) issued its 2027 examination priorities, which reinforce fiduciary obligations and other familiar themes, while sharpening the focus on recent trends in the asset management industry, including the continued expansion of complex and illiquid investments, reliance on proxy advisory firms, and the use of emerging technologies. For investment advisers and registered investment companies, EXAMS remains focused on whether investment recommendations, disclosures and compliance practices reflect the risks and operations of their actual businesses. Economic conflicts, private fund operations, valuation processes and the effectiveness of compliance controls also remain at the center of the examination agenda for asset managers.