The swearing-in of Hester Peirce and Robert Jackson on Jan. 11 gave the Securities and Exchange Commission a full slate of commissioners for the first time in nearly two years. Now that it is at full strength, it is worth asking what ought to be the SEC’s priorities for the immediate future. Allow us to make a suggestion: It ought consider how to fix a badly broken shareholder proposal process.
Congress created the SEC following the market crash of 1929 with three main objectives in mind: to protect retail investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation through the creation and listing of new securities. For the first 60 years of its existence, the SEC was largely successful in this regard, helping U.S. financial markets become the envy of the world.
