Investment Management Career Biographies

Team Member

Biography

Beth Clark, Attorney-Adviser

Beth is an Attorney-Adviser in the IM Liaison Office (ILO) of the Division of Investment Management. The ILO assists the Division of Enforcement on investigations that involve potential violations of the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act, or that relate to the Division's policies and programs. The ILO assists the Division of Examinations with questions about compliance with, and the application of, the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act that arise in the course of their examinations.

Prior to joining the SEC in July 2020, Beth was in private practice with firms in Washington, DC and New York, NY, where she advised investment advisers, private fund managers and various other entities in the financial services industry. Beth received her B.A. in Government/Near Eastern Studies from Cornell University, her M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University and her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she was the recipient of the H. Bert & Ruth Mack Scholarship and an editor of the Law Review.

Michael Spratt, Assistant Director

Michael is an Assistant Director in the Division of Investment Management at the Securities and Exchange Commission. In this role, he leads a team responsible for reviewing filings by mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds and business development companies. He also participates in rules and other policy work related to fund disclosure, including ESG disclosure.

Michael joined the Commission in 2010 in the Rulemaking Office, where he drafted rules and provided interpretative guidance on regulations applicable to investment advisers. He also served as counsel to Commissioners Elisse Walter and Kara Stein, where he provided advice on all aspects of asset management issues, including rulemakings, enforcement actions, and policy.

Before working at the Commission, Michael was an associate in the asset management group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP. He received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Steve Flantsbaum, Senior Special Counsel Fellow

Steve is a Senior Special Counsel Fellow and the SEC’s industry specialist on Business Development Companies (BDCs). Steve’s work focuses on a broad array of BDC and private credit matters, including Investment Company Act issues, co-investments, rulemaking, examinations and disclosures, among others. Steve also counsels on various private fund and investment advisory matters.

Steve joined the SEC in 2021. Prior to the SEC, Steve spent eight years at Blackstone where he was primarily focused on providing legal advice relating to formation, fundraising, co-investment transactions, corporate governance and compliance oversight of Blackstone BDCs (Blackstone Private Credit Fund and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund). In addition, while at Blackstone, Steve worked on a variety of matters pertaining to private funds, direct lending and syndicated loan transactions, public and private securities offerings, financing facilities and compliance. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2013, Steve was an associate in the corporate group of Bingham McCutchen LLP (now Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP), where he worked on structured finance and securitizations. Steve earned his B.B.A., summa cum laude, from Pace University, Lubin School of Business, Pforzheimer Honors College, and his J.D., cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law.

Seretha Renee Pearsall, Research Specialist

Seretha began her career with the SEC in 1991 and currently is a Research Specialist in the Business Solutions & Technology Office of the Managing Executive’s Office (MEO) of the Division of Investment Management. She has served in many roles, from a Research Associate responding to written correspondence, to a congressional liaison researching requests from members of Congress to leading the Public Reference Room. Seretha’s passion is toward researching and development. Seretha juggles several assignments and projects and works well with her teammates as well as staff and members of the public. Her dedication has allowed her to work with exciting projects and initiatives around the SEC from the mutual fund project to the Chair’s Holiday Celebrations.

Seretha received her B.A. in Political Science/ Sociology from the University of the District of Columbia and her M.S.W. in Program Evaluation from Howard University.

Jacob Sandoval, Branch Chief

Jacob is a Branch Chief in the Chief Accountant’s Office (DRAO) of the Division of Investment Management. In this role, he supervises a team of accountants responsible for reviewing investment company financial statements and registration statements. His team reviews filings made by exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, closed-end funds and business development companies for compliance with U.S. GAAP and federal securities laws. Prior to joining the SEC in 2015, Jacob worked in PwC’s asset management practice.

Jacob is a Certified Public Accountant in Colorado and Maryland, Accredited in Business Valuation (“ABV”) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”), holds a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (“CAIA”) designation and a Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) designation. Jacob received his B.S. in Accounting from Regis University.

Scott Lee, Senior Counsel, Disclosure Review and Accounting Office

Scott is a Senior Counsel in the Disclosure and Review Office of the Division of Investment Management. The Disclosure Review Office is primarily responsible for reviewing investment company registration statements and proxy materials. At the SEC, Scott was detailed to House Financial Services Committee for the 117th Congress.

Before joining the SEC, Scott was Special Counsel in Office of Chief Counsel in the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. At the CFTC, he focused on financial and regulatory technology, the regulation of market participants, and anti-money laundering. He founded the Association of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the agency’s first affinity group.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Scott was an associate in the Government & Internal Investigations Group at Alston & Bird in NYC.

Before joining Alston & Bird, Scott was in the Regulatory Litigation Group of the General Counsel Department at Credit Suisse in NYC. He worked at the U.S. House of Representatives as Legislative Counsel to then Congresswoman Mazie Hirono.

Prior to the Hill, Scott worked for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. In college, at The University of Southern California (USC), he was a teaching assistant for the Information Technology Program in the Viterbi School of Engineering.

Scott received his LLM in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center, his JD from The American University, Washington College of Law, and his BS in Public Administration from USC.

Scott is the Health & Safety Coordinator for the Cantonese School of Greater Washington. Previously, Scott served as Co-Chair of the Government Attorneys Forum and the VP of Programs for the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Washington, D.C.