The SEC's new chair, Jay Clayton, is set to take the reins at an agency where many senior staffers have departed following the election and a host of regulatory initiatives face an uncertain future.
Clayton is a veteran Wall Street attorney who has represented some of the largest firms that the commission regulates. The Senate voted to confirm his nomination on Tuesday.
Some business groups hailed Clayton's confirmation, signaling their hope that he will revive efforts to harmonize regulations governing the investment sector.
"Adopting a true, uniform fiduciary duty that protects investors and their access to affordable, objective financial advice must finally be given the serious attention it deserves," David Bellaire, executive vice president and general counsel at the Financial Services Institute, says in a statement.
Clayton comes to the SEC from the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he represented clients such as Goldman Sachs and Barclays. At his
Clayton professed himself to be a supporter of strong oversight of the industry, arguing that a robust SEC is critical to maintaining investor confidence in the financial markets and vowing to take a "zero-tolerance" approach to policing bad actors.
Many observers are skeptical about Clayton forging ahead with major new rule-making initiatives, particularly at a time when Trump has moved swiftly to roll back a slew of regulations from the Obama administration. Already in Congress there is an
Ahead of Clayton's confirmation, acting SEC Chair Michael Piwowar directed the commission to halt certain regulations, and has
CEO Ron Kruszewski received praise for leading the firm's wealth management unit to a record for revenue, despite costly legal setbacks.
As Vice President, Underwriting Research and Development, Jackie Waas is involved in investigating and developing underwriting innovations, with an emphasis on concept development, research, presenting new ideas, and participating in concept validation activities.
She started her career with RGA in 2018 as Director of Underwriting Services, where she supported direct-to-consumer accelerated offerings, including assisting with the auditing of the e-underwriting program and helping develop digital health scores while supporting the Digital Health Data team.
Prior to joining RGA, Jackie was an Underwriting Business Consultant and automated underwriting systems subject matter expert with Legal & General America for four years after working in an underwriting capacity with the company for nine years. She also had five years of underwriting experience with AXA Equitable and formerly worked as a marketing manager for Steele Rubber Products.
Jackie received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in communications and a minor in psychology from Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. She is a Certified Fellow of the Academy of Life Underwriting, a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute. She is also an Associate, Reinsurance Administration; Associate, Insurance Agency Administration; and an Associate, Insurance Regulatory Compliance. Jackie also holds the Professional, Customer Service Institute designation, and she is a member of the Association of Home Office Underwriters.
Guizhou Hu is Vice President, VP, Head of Risk Analytics at RGA, where he supports global RGA underwriting initiatives and produces internal and external thought leadership pieces based on RGA's in-depth risk analytics. Before joining RGA in 2018, Guizhou served as Vice President, Chief Decision Analytics, for Gen Re and as a Senior Vice President for BioSignia Inc. Guizhou holds a medical degree from Beijing Medical University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cornell University.
FIRST STEPS
Clayton, a newcomer to government, is something of an unknown quantity, though in the short term, it seems likely that many staff-level initiatives will continue, says Brian Hamburger, president and CEO of MarketCounsel, a legal and compliance firm.
"On the macro level, the good thing and the bad thing about the SEC is that things don't change very quickly," Hamburger says.
Bill Singer, a veteran securities attorney, is anticipating a swifter change in the direction of the agency, predicting that Clayton will adopt a similarly deregulatory approach to other Trump appointees.
"What I am expecting is that the SEC will reflect the tone of the Trump administration," Singer says.
Hamburger agrees that significant new rule-makings that add new regulations to the financial services sector are unlikely, though he does expect Clayton's SEC to maintain a robust enforcement operation that will "have a meaningful impact on the industry."
