SEC Office of the Investor Advocate Delivers Report to Congress on Objectives for Fiscal Year 2025

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate today delivered its Report to Congress on the Office’s objectives for fiscal year 2025.

As detailed in the Report, the Investor Advocate’s priorities for fiscal year 2025 include: 

• Assisting investors victimized by fraud and monitoring the measurable surge in investment fraud schemes;
• Enhancing Ombuds services to resolve questions, complaints, and concerns about the SEC and self-regulatory organizations (SROs) subject to SEC oversight;
• Evaluating ways in which broker and adviser standards of conduct might be impacted by technological changes in the market;
• Exploring means to increase transparency in and maintain investor access to the private markets;
• Encouraging innovative and effective disclosure through investor testing of existing and proposed disclosures, especially those associated with complex products and private markets;
• Increasing investor engagement and input on matters of significance to retail investors.

“This report reaffirms our commitment to identify and address the unique challenges faced by retail investors, advocate for transparency, mitigate fraud schemes, and support the interests of all investors,” said Cristina Martin Firvida, the SEC’s Investor Advocate.

The Office of the Investor Advocate is an independent office that was established by Congress to: assist retail investors in resolving problems with the Commission and SROs; identify areas where investors would benefit from changes in SEC and SRO rules and regulations; identify investor problems with financial service providers and investment products; analyze potential impact on investors of proposed regulations and rules of the SEC and SROs; and propose regulatory or legislative changes to the Commission and to Congress that might mitigate investor problems and promote investor interests.