Remarks at Meeting of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee

Thank you Christopher [Mirabile] and the other members of the Committee for arranging an impressive list of panelists to share their views and perspectives on the important topics on today’s agenda.

Today’s will be the last IAC meeting for two distinguished members, Paul Mahoney and J.W. Verret, so I wanted to take a moment to thank them both for the untold hours they have dedicated to the Investor Advisory Committee.Both gentlemen played important leadership roles: Paul served as the IAC’s acting Chairman and J.W. was both the IAC’s Assistant Secretary, as well as the Chairman of the Market Structure Subcommittee.Both Paul and J.W. were instrumental in their contributions to the IAC’s market structure work.

I am very much looking forward to hearing from our two expert panels, the first of which will address the often knotty questions of ethics and fiduciary responsibilities relating to the provision of artificial intelligence and robo-advising services.Such services can provide investors with affordable advice, but the implications for investor protection cannot be ignored.I look forward to a discussion that balances these issues.

The second panel is extremely timely.It will explore the disclosures investors need to gauge material cyber risks as they make their investment decisions.Just yesterday, the Commission proposed a rule on this topic.I dissented from the proposal because of concerns that its prescriptive nature could serve to shape companies’ cyber-security programs, rather than merely elicit disclosure.I welcome input from today’s panelists and the Committee to help shape the final rule.

Before I close, I also want to recognize the slate of new officers who will be leading the IAC: Christopher Mirabile, Leslie Van Buskirk, and Brian Hellmer.I also want to acknowledge the continued service of Ted Daniels, who remains IAC Secretary. I look forward to working closely with you all as the Committee helps us think through many challenging issues.