by John W. R. Murray and Rachel Hutchinson
Following up on previous guidance, Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement (“Enforcement”), provided updated detail on Enforcement’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a virtual keynote address last month at the Securities Enforcement Forum West 2020. (We discussed Enforcement’s prior statements here and here.) In his remarks, Peikin affirmed that Enforcement will continue to prioritize COVID-19-related fraud – in particular, microcap fraud, insider trading and market manipulation, and false or misleading issuer disclosures. Peikin also reported that investment advisers, investment companies, and broker-dealers are within Enforcement’s sights in connection with redemption and sales and marketing practices related to the pandemic. Moreover, while acknowledging that the crisis “has had – and will continue to have – a substantial impact” on Enforcement’s operations, the Co-Director made clear that the Division intends to press ahead across all of its priority areas, whether COVID-19-related or not.