At the annual “SEC Speaks” conference held Feb. 19-20, 2016, in Washington, D.C., SEC Chairman Mary Jo White’s opening remarks cautioned that the SEC should not be considered a mere “disclosure agency,” as she promised to use all of the tools at the SEC’s disposal to carry out its regulatory mission. White underscored that these tools have broadened in recent years, ranging from proprietary technology used to monitor and detect market fraud, to enhanced regulatory authority under the Dodd-Frank Act.  White touted the agency’s 2015 achievements in bringing an unprecedented number of enforcement cases, obtaining record-setting penalty and disgorgement orders, and performing exams at a level not seen for the past five years.

Read more about the SEC’s 2016 enforcement agenda, here.