POSITIER-Header

The Office of the Investor Advocate hosted an Evidence Summit to discuss strategies for raising retail investors’ understanding of key investment characteristics such as fees, risks, returns, and conflicts of interest.

The March 10, 2017 Evidence Summit marked the official launch of the SEC’s new investor research initiative led by the SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate, dubbed ‘POSITIER’, also known as Policy Oriented Stakeholder and Investor Testing for Innovative and Effective Regulation.

March 10, 2017 Event Agenda

  • 8:45 a.m. ET | Doors Open

  • [+]9:30-9:45 a.m. ET | Welcome and Remarks

    Welcoming Remarks: Rick Fleming, Investor Advocate, SEC
    Opening Remarks: Michael Piwowar, Acting Chairman

  • [+]9:45-10:15 a.m. ET | Plenary Remarks

    Brigitte Madrian, Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management,
    Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

    Terrance Odean, Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance, Haas School of Business,
    University of California at Berkeley, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

  • [+]10:15-11:15 a.m. ET | Panel 1 – How does an investor think and act?

    Co-Moderator: Brigitte Madrian, Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management,
    Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

    Co-Moderator: Terrance Odean, Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance, Haas School of Business,
    University of California at Berkeley, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
     

    Panelists

    • Jessica Choplin, Associate Professor of Psychological Science, DePaul University
    • Elizabeth “Betsy” Howlett, Professor of Marketing, University of Arkansas
    • Jill Fisch, Perry Golkin Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
    • Dan Silverman, Rondthaler Professor of Economics, Arizona State University

  • 11:15–11:25 a.m. ET | Break

  • [+]11:25–11:45 a.m. ET | Keynote

    Keynote: George Loewenstein,
    Herbert A. Simon Professor of Economics and Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University

  • [+]11:45-1:00 p.m. ET | Panel 2. How can the SEC’s disclosure regime facilitate disclosure in the most effective manner for a wide variety of users?

    Moderator: Alan Palmiter, Howard L. Oleck Professor of Business Law, School of Law,
    Wake Forest University, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

    Panelists

    • Rick Larrick, Hanes Corporation Foundation Professor of Business Administration and Management and Organizations, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
    • Ginger Jin, Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Trade Commission/University of Maryland
    • Tom Lin, Associate Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law
    • John Kozup, Associate Professor, Marketing & Business Law, Villanova University
    • John Turner, Director, Pension Policy Center

  • 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET | Lunch Break

  • 2:30-2:40 p.m. ET | Remarks by Commissioner Kara Stein

  • [+]2:40-4:00 p.m. ET | Panel 3. How can the SEC improve the disclosure of discrete items like fees, strategies/risks, and performance?

    Moderator: Brian Scholl, Principal Economic Advisor and Senior Economist, Office of the Investor Advocate, SEC

    Panelists

    • Michael Spratt, Assistant Director, Division of Investment Management, SEC
    • Ahmed Taha, Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law
    • Ryan Murphy, Director of Behavioral Science at Morningstar
    • Tom Smythe, Professor of Business and Accounting, Furman University
    • George Loewenstein, Herbert A. Simon Professor of Economics and Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University

NEWS

SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate to Hold Evidence Summit, Launch Investor Research Initiative
March 2, 2017

What is POSITIER?

The Policy Oriented Stakeholder and Investor Testing for Innovative and Effective Regulation (POSITIER, pronounced “poz-it-teer”) initiative represents a new way to promote evidence-based outcomes by introducing additional research and data into SEC policymaking. The initiative aims to inform the rulemaking process with evidence obtained from surveys and tests of the potential impacts of proposed policy changes. The Evidence Summit marks the official launch of POSITIER initiative.