SEC Chairman Cox Appoints Kristin J. Kaepplein Director of the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy; Announces Expansion of the Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2007-153

Washington, D.C., July 31, 2007 - Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox today announced that Ms. Kristin J. Kaepplein, Vice President for Global Compliance Operations at Goldman Sachs, will join the SEC as Director of the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.

Chairman Cox also announced significant new responsibilities for the Office, formerly known as the Office of Investor Education and Assistance.

"I am extraordinarily pleased that Kristi has agreed to join the Commission at a time when we are facing so many issues important to retail investors," Chairman Cox said. "Her demonstrated passion about issues important to investors, as well as her deep knowledge of the financial services industry and extensive management experience, will make her an excellent advocate within the Commission for issues that retail investors care about."

Chairman Cox also announced a significant expansion of the Office. Two new organization units will be formed within the Office: the Office of Policy and Investor Outreach and the Office of Investor Education. The Office of Policy and Investor Outreach will focus on assessing the views and needs of retail investors and ensuring that those views inform the Commission's regulatory policies and disclosure programs. The Office of Investor Education will be devoted to improving financial literacy and helping investors make informed investment decisions.

These two new organizational components will join the existing Office of Investor Assistance and the Office of the Freedom of Information Act.

The Office of Investor Education and Advocacy each year has contact with tens of thousands of individual American investors through its investor assistance and education programs. As a result of the knowledge and experience gained through these programs, the Office is able to provide invaluable advice to the Commission on how to advance the interests of America's investors. The Office also plays an important role in the Commission's key initiatives aimed at retail investors — including using "interactive data" to make disclosure more useful to investors, helping senior citizens to guard against securities fraud, and standing up for investors who want disclosures in 'plain English' and easily available on the Internet.

"Expanding the responsibilities of the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy will help the Commission stay firmly focused on its work to put individual investors first," Chairman Cox said.

Prior to arriving at Goldman Sachs in 2004, Ms. Kaepplein worked with many of the financial services industry's largest broker-dealers and investment managers as a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and TIAA-CREF, and as self-employed contractor. In 2000, Ms. Kaepplein created Investor's Bullhorn, a company focused on using the Internet to provide online investor services, including proxy voting recommendations, fill-in-the-blank shareholder proposals, and a forum for shareholders to nominate director-candidates from among their own ranks. Ms. Kaepplein received her B.A. from Georgetown and her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

"I am looking forward to this opportunity to serve individual investors and advocate their needs and interests within the Commission," Ms. Kaepplein said. "This effort to further expand SEC outreach to retail investors will help even better provide them with the valuable information and protections they need to invest wisely, avoid fraud, and secure their financial futures as families plan and save for their education, health care and retirement needs."

Ms. Kaepplein will begin work at the SEC on August 6, 2007.

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-153.htm