Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations — Offices

• OCIE Contact Information
   

Office of Chief Counsel

The Office of Chief Counsel provides advice and training on law, policy, operations, and ethics to examination staff in Washington DC and in the regional offices. Attorneys in the Office also conduct selected special compliance initiatives, including selected risk-based examinations of broker-dealers, investment advisers, investment companies, transfer agents, and self-regulatory organizations. The Office's initiatives generally focus on new or emerging issues, involve the coordination of multiple regulators, or require expertise that is new to the program.

OCIE’s Training Branch is part of the Office of Chief Counsel. The Training Branch is responsible for planning and implementing the examination staff training program. Programs are offered for new and experienced examiners and are held both at headquarters and in the regions. The core programs provide training for broker-dealer, investment adviser, and investment company examiners. Specialized training is also offered in complex areas such as, e.g., derivatives, securities processing and operations, and operations of mutual funds. Training is also offered in response to new areas of regulation. In recent years this has included money laundering, variable annuities, Regulation S-P, and hedge funds.

The Registrations Branch is also part of the Office of the Chief Counsel. This group performs examinations of applications, amendments and withdrawals submitted by investment advisers, broker-dealers, transfer agents, and municipal securities dealers (regulated entities). Examinations include a full disclosure and completeness review. Applications are approved or terminated based on the result of the examinations.

Broker / Dealer

OCIE’s Office of Broker-Dealer Examinations is responsible for examining the approximately 6,900 broker-dealers in the United States. The group consists of attorneys, accountants, MBAs, and former industry professionals. The Office strives to ensure that broker-dealers comply with the federal securities laws, with a particular emphasis on the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Broker-dealers may deal directly with the investing public and may sell a variety of different products. Through investigation of tips and complaints, routine and special risk-targeted examinations and monitoring industry trends and developments, the Office works to assess whether broker-dealers are upholding their duties to the investing public.

The Office also coordinates the national examination program conducted through the regional offices located in: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Office also coordinates with the New York Stock Exchange, NASD, and other SROs on broker-dealer regulatory issues.

During 2003-2006, the Office’s staff conducted reviews focused on retail sales practices, market timing and late trading, retail bond markups, municipal securities inter-dealer brokers, consolidated supervised entities, anti-money laundering, Section 529 plans, structured finance, retail and institutional best execution and proprietary trading, mutual fund sales practices, variable annuities, and internal controls, among other areas.

Investment Adviser / Investment Company

OCIE’s Office of Investment Adviser/Investment Company Examinations is responsible for the examination of approximately 10,600 investment advisers ("IAs") and 940 investment company complexes ("ICs") registered with the Commission with total assets of approximately $32.3 trillion dollars. The group consists of examiners, accountants, MBAs, CPAs, and former industry professionals. The Office strives to ensure that these entities comply with the federal securities laws, with a particular emphasis on the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Through investigation of tips and complaints, routine and risk-based examinations and monitoring industry trends, the Office works to ensure that the IAs and ICs are meeting their fiduciary duties, among other obligations, to clients and shareholders as required by the Acts.

The Office also coordinates the national examination program conducted through the regional offices located in: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

During 2003-2006, the Office’s staff conducted reviews focused on market timing and late trading, investment company pricing procedures, payments to obtain business, fund expenses, anti-money laundering prevention, disaster recovery planning, proxy voting and selective disclosures, among other areas.

Market/SRO Oversight

The Self-Regulatory Organization ("SRO") groups within OCIE are responsible for examining SROs to ensure that they and their members comply with applicable federal securities laws and SRO rules. The SROs include national stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange, and national securities associations, such as the NASD. Other SROs are registered clearing agencies and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

OCIE’s SRO groups conduct routine and risk-based inspections of SRO regulatory programs, including: market surveillance, investigation, disciplinary, broker-dealer examination, listing and arbitration programs, among others. In the market surveillance area, OCIE staff examine whether the stock markets have systems and procedures in place to uncover possible market manipulation and other violations. In the listing area, staff examine whether stock markets are ensuring that listed companies satisfy all applicable financial and corporate governance listing standards.

http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ocie/ocie_offices.shtml