Policy in Pieces

Bernie Madoff perpetrated the largest investment fraud in U.S. history. The SEC never knew, and its revelation shook the agency to its core. Former Enforcement attorney Stephen L. Cohen was put in charge of building the system to keep it from happening again. He joins this episode to reflect on the events that led from […]

Former SEC Director of Enforcement, Stephanie Avakian, explains how legal actions are brought against those alleged to have engaged in market misconduct, the role of politically appointed Commissioners in deciding the actions, and how the process is changing with the new administration.

One of the most influential academic researchers on analyses that inform financial market policy is University of Chicago professor Christian Leuz. His peer-reviewed publications have informed 19 different policy actions spanning both democratic and republican administrations. In this episode, he explains what government regulators and academics need to do, to be even better, at implementing […]

Listen to MIT Professor SP Kothari talk about leading the economic division at the SEC during the Trump administration. He shares views on regulating markets during a pandemic, criticism received, and a host of issues from taxes and inflation to share repurchases and accounting for social equity in cost benefit analyses.

BlockRock co-founder, Barbara Novick, talks about the firm’s journey to a $9 trillion AUM, experiences from the global financial crisis, and how she started the global policy group and became a leading voice on financial market reform.

Eric Pan, CEO of the Investment Company Institute, discusses how the trade association develops views on behalf of its members and the 100 million investors that they serve, including on one of the most pressing issues of the new administration — Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosures by regulated entities. Also hear his views on proxy […]

On January 20, the President directed federal agencies to promote “social welfare, racial justice, environmental stewardship, human dignity, equity, and the interests of future generations” in the regulatory review process. SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw explains her support of the memo principles and discusses how they are related to a host of issues within the SEC’s […]

Babson College professor Erik Sirri talks about money market fragility, his experience as a senior official at the SEC during the global financial crisis when they ‘broke the buck’, and how subsequent reform didn’t prevent them from being bailed out again, at the onset of the pandemic. He shares his thoughts about what to do […]

Legendary VC investor Bill Gurley, an outspoken critic of the traditional IPO process, explains how the rise of SPACs and emergence of direct listings are addressing the long-standing and controversial practice of bank underpricing of initial public offerings.

Dan Taylor, an accounting professor of the Wharton School, and director of the Wharton Forensic Analytics Lab, describes his effort to define, identify, and address illegal insider trading through his academic research and policy advocacy.