The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Brent J. Fields has been named Associate Director of Disclosure Review and Accounting in the Division of Investment Management.

Mr. Fields is a 23-year SEC veteran who has served as Secretary of the Commission since 2014. As Secretary, he is responsible for leading the office in its central role of ensuring the effective processing of Commission business. Among the office’s responsibilities are the review of all SEC documents submitted to and approved by the Commission and the preparation and maintenance of the records of Commission actions, including dissemination of those actions to the public. 

In his new role, Mr. Fields will oversee the division’s disclosure and accounting review programs. He will be primarily responsible for the implementation of disclosure and accounting policy that impacts nearly 16,000 investment companies, including open-end, closed-end, exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, and business development companies.  

“During my time at the Commission, I have had the opportunity to see Brent’s dedication to the SEC and its mission firsthand,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton.  “Brent is a proven leader who engenders an environment of respect, purpose, and achievement. Our Main Street investors are fortunate to have an individual of his caliber leading an office that plays a key part in ensuring transparency in our capital markets.”

“We are excited to have Brent rejoin the Division,” said Dalia Blass, Director of the Division of Investment Management.  “Brent is a well-respected and talented leader.  His professional expertise as a lawyer and C.P.A., as well as his comprehensive experience with agency processes and procedures will help the Division continue to look out for the long term interests of Main Street investors.”

“I look forward to returning to the office where I began my investment company career, and working with the dedicated team in that office,” said Mr. Fields. “The disclosure and accounting staff perform a vital function, informing and protecting investors – particularly retail investors – and I am excited to return to that role.”

Before becoming Secretary, Mr. Fields held a variety of positions within the SEC. He first joined the agency’s Division of Enforcement in 1996 and moved to the Division of Investment Management later the following year where he held various leadership roles.  From 2002 to 2004, he served as a counsel to then-SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins. Mr. Fields has also served as an Assistant Director leading an office that reviews the disclosures of investment companies and as the Assistant Director leading a disclosure rulemaking office.  In those capacities he was instrumental in the implementation of the SEC’s mutual fund disclosure reform initiative, which included a new summary prospectus to give fund investors a concise, plain English description of the key information needed to make informed investment decisions.

Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Fields worked as an associate at the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. in Washington D.C.  After law school, Mr. Fields clerked for the Honorable Anthony A. Alaimo in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. 

Mr. Fields earned his J.D. cum laude from University of Georgia School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Virginia Tech.