SEC Announces Creation of Office of Risk and Strategy for its National Exam Program

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the creation of the Office of Risk and Strategy within its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE).  The new office will consolidate and streamline OCIE’s risk assessment, market surveillance, and quantitative analysis teams and provide operational risk management and organizational strategy for OCIE.

Peter B. Driscoll will lead the office and has been named as its first Chief Risk and Strategy Officer.  In this role, Mr. Driscoll will manage the new office and the Investment Adviser/Investment Company examination staff based in Washington, D.C. 

“The Office of Risk and Strategy will lead our exam program’s risk-based, data-driven, and transparent approach to protecting investors,” said OCIE Director Marc Wyatt. "Pete brings exceptional industry and operational knowledge, strategic leadership, and a track record of innovation to his new role.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead such a talented staff and am excited to advance our development of new tools and techniques that strengthen OCIE’s risk analysis, surveillance, and strategic abilities on behalf of investors,” said Mr. Driscoll.

OCIE conducts the SEC’s National Examination Program through examinations of SEC-registered investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, municipal advisors, self-regulatory organizations, clearing agencies, and transfer agents.  It uses a risk-based approach to examinations to fulfill its mission to promote compliance with U.S. securities laws, prevent fraud, monitor risk, and inform SEC policy.

Mr. Driscoll has been OCIE’s Managing Executive since 2013.  He started at the SEC in 2001 as a staff attorney in the Division of Enforcement in the agency’s Chicago Regional Office.  He joined OCIE in 2004 as a branch chief in the Investment Adviser/Investment Company program in the Chicago office and later served as the Chicago office’s Ethics Liaison Officer and Assistant Regional Director.  

Mr. Driscoll began his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young LLP and held several accounting positions in private industry.  He has a bachelor’s and law degree from St. Louis University.  Mr. Driscoll is a licensed certified public accountant in the state of Missouri and a member of the Missouri Bar.