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November 21, 2012 at 05:42 AM
(Editor’s Note: SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro announced Monday that she was stepping down as head of the Commission on Dec. 14, ending her nearly four years in that position.)
Rumors are circulating that Mary John Miller, the Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, is the top candidate to replace SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro when she departs.
Industry officials reached by AdvisorOne say that Miller is, indeed, “qualified” to fill Schapiro’s shoes. As Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, Miller is responsible for developing and coordinating Treasury’s policies and guidance in the areas of financial institutions, federal debt financing, financial regulation and capital markets.
While Schapiro’s term doesn’t end until 2014, it has long been rumored that she would leave her post at year-end regardless of whether President Obama secured re-election. Schapiro declined to comment on whether she is planning to depart the agency.
Vanguard founder and index investing pioneer John Bogle said during a recent speech that Schapiro has been “so frustrated” with internal opposition at the agency, citing specifically the challenge to finish a rule to put brokers under a fiduciary mandate. One recent victory for Schapiro, however, was getting the Financial Stability Oversight Council to advance money-market fund reforms—a feat on which Schapiro had previously failed to get SEC commissioners to back her.
David Tittsworth, executive director of the Investment Adviser Association in Washington, notes that the appointment of any replacement for Schapiro “can be very difficult to predict.” Says Tittsworth: “If and when Schapiro resigns, my guess–and it’s only a guess–is that other potential candidates may be considered than those who are being named in various reports.”
