15 USC 78d - Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S Code last checked for updates: Mar 27, 2026

§ 78d.

Securities and Exchange Commission

(a)

Establishment; composition; limitations on commissioners; terms of office

(b)

Appointment and compensation of staff and leasing authority

(1)

Appointment and compensation

(2)

Reporting of information

(3)

Leasing authority

(c)

Acceptance of travel support for Commission activities from non-Federal sources; regulations

(d)

Acceptance of relocation expenses from former employers by professional fellows program participants

(e)

Fee payments

(f)

Reimbursement of expenses for assisting foreign securities authorities

(g)

Office of the Investor Advocate

(1)

Office established

(2)

Investor Advocate

(A)

In general

The head of the Office shall be the Investor Advocate, who shall—

(i)

report directly to the Chairman; and

(ii)

be appointed by the Chairman, in consultation with the Commission, from among individuals having experience in advocating for the interests of investors in securities and investor protection issues, from the perspective of investors.

(B)

Compensation

(C)

Limitation on service

An individual who serves as the Investor Advocate may not be employed by the Commission—

(i)

during the 2-year period ending on the date of appointment as Investor Advocate; or

(ii)

during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the person ceases to serve as the Investor Advocate.

(3)

Staff of Office

(4)

Functions of the Investor Advocate

The Investor Advocate shall—

(A)

assist retail investors in resolving significant problems such investors may have with the Commission or with self-regulatory organizations;

(B)

identify areas in which investors would benefit from changes in the regulations of the Commission or the rules of self-regulatory organizations;

(C)

identify problems that investors have with financial service providers and investment products;

(D)

analyze the potential impact on investors of—

(i)

proposed regulations of the Commission; and

(ii)

proposed rules of self-regulatory organizations registered under this chapter; and

(E)

to the extent practicable, propose to the Commission changes in the regulations or orders of the Commission and to Congress any legislative, administrative, or personnel changes that may be appropriate to mitigate problems identified under this paragraph and to promote the interests of investors.

(5)

Access to documents

(6)

Annual reports

(A)

Report on objectives

(i)

In general

(ii)

Contents

(B)

Report on activities

(i)

In general

(ii)

Contents

Each report required under clause (i) shall include—

(I)

appropriate statistical information and full and substantive analysis;

(II)

information on steps that the Investor Advocate has taken during the reporting period to improve investor services and the responsiveness of the Commission and self-regulatory organizations to investor concerns;

(III)

a summary of the most serious problems encountered by investors during the reporting period;

(IV)

an inventory of the items described in subclause (III) that includes—

(aa)

identification of any action taken by the Commission or the self-regulatory organization and the result of such action;

(bb)

the length of time that each item has remained on such inventory; and

(cc)

for items on which no action has been taken, the reasons for inaction, and an identification of any official who is responsible for such action;

(V)

recommendations for such administrative and legislative actions as may be appropriate to resolve problems encountered by investors; and

(VI)

any other information, as determined appropriate by the Investor Advocate.

(iii)

Independence

(iv)

Confidentiality

(7)

Regulations

(8)

Ombudsman

(A)

Appointment

(B)

Duties

The Ombudsman appointed under subparagraph (A) shall—

(i)

act as a liaison between the Commission and any retail investor in resolving problems that retail investors may have with the Commission or with self-regulatory organizations;

(ii)

review and make recommendations regarding policies and procedures to encourage persons to present questions to the Investor Advocate regarding compliance with the securities laws; and

(iii)

establish safeguards to maintain the confidentiality of communications between the persons described in clause (ii) and the Ombudsman.

(C)

Limitation

(D)

Report

(h)

Examiners

(1)

Division of Trading and Markets

The Division of Trading and Markets of the Commission, or any successor organizational unit, shall have a staff of examiners who shall—

(A)

perform compliance inspections and examinations of entities under the jurisdiction of that Division; and

(B)

report to the Director of that Division.

(2)

Division of Investment Management

The Division of Investment Management of the Commission, or any successor organizational unit, shall have a staff of examiners who shall—

(A)

perform compliance inspections and examinations of entities under the jurisdiction of that Division; and

(B)

report to the Director of that Division.

(i)

Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation

(1)

Office established

(2)

Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation

(A)

In general

The head of the Office shall be the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, who shall—

(i)

report directly to the Commission; and

(ii)

be appointed by the Commission, from among individuals having experience in advocating for the interests of small businesses and encouraging small business capital formation.

(B)

Compensation

(C)

No current employee of the Commission

(3)

Staff of Office

(4)

Functions of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation

The Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation shall—

(A)

assist small businesses and small business investors in resolving significant problems such businesses and investors may have with the Commission or with self-regulatory organizations;

(B)

identify areas in which small businesses and small business investors would benefit from changes in the regulations of the Commission or the rules of self-regulatory organizations;

(C)

identify problems that small businesses have with securing access to capital, including any unique challenges to minority-owned small businesses, women-owned small businesses, and small businesses affected by hurricanes or other natural disasters;

(D)

analyze the potential impact on small businesses and small business investors of—

(i)

proposed regulations of the Commission that are likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses and small business capital formation; and

(ii)

proposed rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses and small business capital formation of self-regulatory organizations registered under this chapter;

(E)

conduct outreach to small businesses and small business investors, including through regional roundtables, in order to solicit views on relevant capital formation issues;

(F)

(G)

consult with the Investor Advocate on proposed recommendations made under subparagraph (F); and

(H)

advise the Investor Advocate on issues related to small businesses and small business investors.

(5)

Access to documents

(6)

Annual report on activities

(A)

In general

(B)

Contents

Each report required under subparagraph (A) shall include—

(i)

appropriate statistical information and full and substantive analysis;

(ii)

information on steps that the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has taken during the reporting period to improve small business services and the responsiveness of the Commission and self-regulatory organizations to small business and small business investor concerns;

(iii)

a summary of the most serious issues encountered by small businesses and small business investors, including any unique issues encountered by minority-owned small businesses, women-owned small businesses, and small businesses affected by hurricanes or other natural disasters and their investors, during the reporting period;

(iv)

an inventory of the items summarized under clause (iii) (including items summarized under such clause for any prior reporting period on which no action has been taken or that have not been resolved to the satisfaction of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation as of the beginning of the reporting period covered by the report) that includes—

(I)

identification of any action taken by the Commission or the self-regulatory organization and the result of such action;

(II)

the length of time that each item has remained on such inventory; and

(III)

for items on which no action has been taken, the reasons for inaction, and an identification of any official who is responsible for such action;

(v)

recommendations for such changes to the regulations, guidance and orders of the Commission and such legislative actions as may be appropriate to resolve problems with the Commission and self-regulatory organizations encountered by small businesses and small business investors and to encourage small business capital formation; and

(vi)

any other information, as determined appropriate by the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation.

(C)

Confidentiality

(D)

Independence

(7)

Regulations

(8)

Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation

(9)

Rule of construction

(j)

Open data publication

All public data assets published by the Commission under the securities laws and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111–203; 124 Stat. 1376) shall be—

(1)

made available as an open Government data asset (as defined in section 3502 of title 44);

(2)

freely available for download;

(3)

rendered in a human-readable format; and

(4)

accessible via application programming interface where appropriate.

(June 6, 1934, ch. 404, title I, § 4, 48 Stat. 885; Oct. 28, 1949, ch. 782, title XI, § 1106(a), 63 Stat. 972; Pub. L. 86–619, § 3, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 408; Pub. L. 86–771, Sept. 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 913; Pub. L. 88–426, title III, § 305(20), Aug. 14, 1964, 78 Stat. 425; Pub. L. 98–38, § 1, June 6, 1983, 97 Stat. 205; Pub. L. 100–181, title III, § 307, Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1254; Pub. L. 101–550, title I, § 103, title II, § 207, Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2713, 2721; Pub. L. 104–290, title IV, § 406, Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3444; Pub. L. 105–353, title II, § 203, Nov. 3, 1998, 112 Stat. 3234; Pub. L. 107–123, § 8(d)(2),

cite as: 15 USC 78d