Welcome to SEC Roundup, a bimonthly video series by former Securities and Exchange Commission senior trial counsels Nick Morgan and Tom Zaccaro, founders of the nonprofit advocacy group Investor Choice Advocates Network.
Is the SEC's enforcement division slowing down, or just changing gears?
Morgan sits down with Sarah Concannon of Quinn Emanuel, Professor Kevin Douglas of Michigan State University College of Law, and J.W. Verret of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University to identify the cases that will define 2026.
For the investment advisor community, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of profound regulatory redefinition.
While the transition to Paul Atkins' leadership at the SEC has sparked a popular narrative that the "enforcement era" is over, the reality on the ground is far more nuanced. As legal theories from the previous administration work their way through the appellate system and state regulators begin to fill what they perceive as a federal vacuum, advisors must look beyond the headlines to the "sleeper" cases that will set the rules of the road for years to come.
The sleeper cases include:
— SEC v. Carebourn Capital: A bizarre procedural battle where the SEC is trying to walk away, but the defendants won't let them.
— SEC v. Panuwat: The first-of-its-kind case regarding "shadow" insider trading and why the Ninth Circuit's ruling matters for every trader.
— State of Oregon v. Coinbase Inc.: Why states are picking up the "Gensler Playbook" to target crypto exchanges after federal cases are dropped.
— SEC v. Sripetch: A Supreme Court case questioning if the SEC can seek "victimless disgorgement."
Plus, the $5.1 Billion Problem: Why the SEC is sitting on a mountain of cash it can't return to victims.
See the video for the discussion.
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