Overview
- Released November 17, the first priorities under Chair Paul S. Atkins reaffirm core examinations of fiduciary duties, compliance program effectiveness and accurate disclosures.
- Investment advisers face scrutiny of care and loyalty to retail clients, management of conflicts, recommendations involving complex or alternative products, dual registrants and business‑model changes.
- Registered funds will see reviews of fees and expenses, valuation and liquidity controls, and consistency between practices, disclosures and marketing, including readiness for the amended Names Rule in late 2026.
- Broker‑dealer exams continue to center on Regulation Best Interest for recommendations and rollovers to older investors, plus the Net Capital and Customer Protection rules and trading practices.
- Cross‑cutting reviews target incident‑response and data protection under amended Regulation S‑P (compliance dates December 3, 2025 for larger entities and June 3, 2026 for others), AI governance and marketing claims, emphasis on never‑examined or newly registered firms, and crypto risks addressed within existing custody, AML and complex‑product reviews.