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On this episode of inSecurities, Chris & Kurt chat with Mark Kim, Chief Executive Officer of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). They discuss the $4 trillion municipal securities market, the role of the MSRB, and how the MSRB is building more efficient and transparent markets.     

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the first week of May is Well-Being Week in Law. To complement PLI’s catalog of mental health and well-being programs, on this episode Chris and Kurt step away from the world of securities regulation to talk about some of the challenges many attorneys and accountants face, and how they can set out on a path to wellness. First, Chris and Kurt chat with Denise Perme, Associate Director of the D.C. Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program, to talk about drivers of substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, and stress, and to highlight resources available for professionals who need help on their path to wellness. Next, Chris and Kurt talk with Gretchen Pisano, CEO and co-founder of pLink Leadership, and an executive coach and consultant who leans on her background in behavioral science and positive psychology to fundamentally change the way people work and lead. There’s much to learn from this essential episode of the inSecurities podcast. Most importantly, if you are grappling with any of the issues we address in this issue, please remember that you are not alone. Reach out to an LAP Support Group, talk to your employer about resources available at or through work, or phone a friend. Learn more about the D.C. Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program here, and tune in to the D.C. Bar’s wellness podcast, Toward Well-Being, here. Learn more about the ABA’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs or resources in your state here. Learn more about pLink Leadership here.

“If you want to do something extraordinary you will have to inevitably do something uncomfortable and scary.” In other words, go off the beaten path. That’s the advice of Alex Su, a lawyer turned-social media influencer, author of the Off The Record newsletter, and Head of Community Development at Ironclad. On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Alex offers advice to professionals who are considering their next career move.   Follow Alex on TikTok (@legaltechbro) and Twitter (@heyitsalexsu), or subscribe to his Substack newsletter, Off The Record. 

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt chat with Kirsten Wegner, CEO of Modern Markets Initiative (“MMI”), about the rise of the retail investor, the role of market makers in promoting fair and efficient markets, and the ubiquity of algorithmic and high-frequency trading. They also learn about MMI’s efforts to promote innovative, competitive, and transparent capital markets. 

On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, marking the “first ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology.” On this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt sit down with experts Carla Carriveau, the Chief Legal Officer of CoinList, and Michael Liftik, a Co-Chair of Quinn Emanuel’s SEC Enforcement Practice, to find out whether the Executive Order will bring order to the regulatory chaos for crypto.  

Chris & Kurt chat with FINRA’s Deputy Head of Enforcement, Chris Kelly, to learn what it’s like on the front lines of FINRA Enforcement. Chris discusses how FINRA’s role as a self-regulatory organization helps it fulfill its regulatory mandate, what FINRA means when it says its goal is “to get to the right regulatory outcome,” and why member firms facing a potential disciplinary action should actually be open to a dialogue with FINRA.

Kurt and Chris welcome back SECI Director George Wilson to cover recent developments in SEC, PCAOB, and FASB news. George gives his take on new PCAOB leadership, goodwill accounting standards reform, recent developments around 10b5-1 plans, and the stock buyback regulations.   Subscribe to the SEC Institute’s Quarterly Newsletter. 

Stephanie Avakian, the head of WilmerHale’s Securities and Financial Services Department and a former Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, talks with Chris and Kurt about changes in tone for the Division of Enforcement, current enforcement priorities, and what she’s watching on the enforcement horizon.

Robinhood is on a mission to “democratize finance for all.” Chris & Kurt sit down with Robinhood’s Deputy General Counsel, Lucas Moskowitz, to talk about Robinhood’s mission, how 2021 changed Robinhood – and the markets – for good, and what regulatory changes Robinhood spies on the horizon. They also have fun with some Robin Hood trivia.

Chris and Kurt sit down with Jesse Eisinger, senior editor at ProPublica, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering the financial markets and the 2008 financial crisis, and author of The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives (2017). Their conversation focuses on reporting in the securities markets, his prophetic (and award-winning) writing about the fall of the housing market and its impacts, and his recent work as a consultant on the hit HBO show Succession.   Links for shownotes: “The Giant Pool of Money,” This American Life, https://www.thisamericanlife.org/355/the-giant-pool-of-money “You May Be Paying a Higher Tax Rate Than a Billionaire,” ProPublica, https://www.propublica.org/article/you-may-be-paying-a-higher-tax-rate-than-a-billionaire The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives, www.amazon.com/Chickenshit-Club-Department-Prosecute-Executives/dp/1501121367     

Ring in the New Year with inSecurities! Guests on the inSecurities podcast keep listeners current on the latest securities regulatory and enforcement developments. On this special New Year’s Eve episode of the podcast, Chris and Kurt visit with past guests at a virtual cocktail party, including SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, Jane Norberg, and professors Daniel Taylor, James Tierney, J.W. Verret, and Karen Woody. Tune in to learn how the regulatory landscape is changing, and hear our guests’ 2022 securities regulatory resolutions. Cheers!  2:30 – Dan Taylor   11:00 – Hester Peirce  19:20 – Karen Woody  26:55 – James Tierney    38:00 – Jane Norberg  45:06 – JW Verret  https://www.pli.edu/insecurities 

In this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt sit down with FINRA Head of Enforcement Jessica Hopper to talk about the role of FINRA Enforcement and several of FINRA’s enforcement priorities – including “finfluencers,” cybersecurity, and complex products – and then bust a few myths about FINRA Enforcement. Tune in to this episode of FINRA’s own podcast, Unscripted, to hear more from Jessica: https://www.finra.org/media-center/finra-unscripted/enforcement-jessica-hopper-introduction https://www.pli.edu/insecurities   

SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee sits down with Chris & Kurt to share her views on how the Commission might enhance investor protection and increase transparency in private markets and update the ESG disclosure regime to meet the needs and demands of investors . . . along with the benefits of “beautiful accounting footnotes.”   Be sure to read Commissioner Lee’s recent speech, “Going Dark: The Growth of Private Markets and the Impact on Investors and the Economy,” available here: https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/lee-sec-speaks-2021-10-12  https://www.pli.edu/insecurities    

The SEC’s Division of Enforcement just released its enforcement results for FY2021. On this special episode, Chris and Kurt break down the results with Quinn Emanuel partner, Sarah Heaton Concannon. https://www.pli.edu/insecurities

Nebraska College of Law Professor James F. Tierney explains how many apps incorporate design features — sometimes called “gamification” — to influence investor behavior. Professor Tierney also explores with Chris & Kurt some of the regulatory and policy implications of those design features.  https://www.pli.edu/insecurities    

As a bonus feature, we are sharing an episode of the ACFE’s Fraud Talk podcast entitled “Understanding the Art and “Science” of the Theranos Saga,” on which our very own Chris Ekimoff appeared as a special guest. On the episode, released during International Fraud Awareness Week, Chris and Mandy Moody, CFE, ACFE communications manager, discuss the latest from the trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. https://www.pli.edu/insecurities

In October, the SEC released its long anticipated “GameStop Report.” Ty Gellasch, a market plumbing expert and Executive Director of Healthy Markets, gives Chris & Kurt his take on the report.

The securities regulatory and enforcement world was buzzing after PLI’s annual SEC Speaks program. From ESG to SPACs, and from “gamification” to corporate penalties, the conference hit all the hot topics. On this episode of inSecurities, Chris & Kurt share their “Four Big Things” to take away from The SEC Speaks in 2021:  Requiring admissions in SEC enforcement actions; zero tolerance for auditor independence violations; regulating the robo-advisors; and cryptocurrency in the Wild West.  Watch SEC Speaks On-Demand at https://pli.edu/programs/SECspeaks

There’s so much to learn at PLI’s 53rd Annual Institute on Securities Regulation! Chris and Kurt sit down with program Co-Chairs Meredith Cross of WilmerHale, Keir Gumbs of Broadridge Financial Solutions, and Carmen Lawrence of King & Spalding to hear what the program has to offer.  Please visit https://www.pli.edu/insecurities for more information.

Whistleblower tips are streaming into the SEC, so it’s critically important for companies to develop effective parallel internal reporting systems. Jane Norberg, a partner at Arnold & Porter who previously served as the Chief of the SEC’s Whistleblower Office, chats with Chris and Kurt about the state of the SEC’s whistleblower program and how companies should encourage, triage and investigate whistleblower tips. Link to podcast page on PLI.edu