JCAP101.com

The ISC’s objective is to strengthen the cohesion between federal, state, and local agencies, enhance opportunities to collaborate on cases to protect investors, provide insight and guidance across the ecosystem to those who may not frequently operate in this space, and create a forum for unified efforts in combatting financial fraud.

The ISC launched with representatives from more than 100 departments and agencies, including federal agencies, state offices of attorneys general and state police, and local police departments and sheriff’s offices.

“The Interagency Securities Council will help front line investigators stay abreast of emerging threats and fact patterns to protect their communities from securities fraud, while supporting the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement partners across the country,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Chair of the ISC and Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

“As financial frauds become more complex, investors benefit from the government – at all levels – working together and sharing information to protect and inform the public,” said Cristina Martin Firvida, the SEC’s Investor Advocate.

About the Interagency Securities Council

The ISC is open to law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and members participate in discussions with experts on emerging threats, hear from investigators conducting and supervising investigations, and explore case study examples of agencies employing innovative approaches to combat financial fraud. The ISC also serves as an opportunity to connect and share information with the larger law enforcement community that less frequently deals with securities law violations, such as police/sheriff departments and tribal- and military-community law enforcement. 

The SEC’s efforts on the council will be led by Adam Anicich and Manuel Vazquez.

Contact

To learn more about this initiative, or to enroll your department or agency, please contact ISC@sec.gov.

The committee was established by the SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016 ⊗ (PDF). Consistent with statutory requirements, committee members represent a diverse spectrum of leaders, investors, and advisors who work with early-stage private companies and smaller public companies, including minority- and women-owned small businesses.

The committee advises and consults with the Commission on rules, regulations, and policies as they relate to:

• Capital raising by emerging, privately held small businesses and publicly traded companies with less than $250 million in public market capitalization;
• Trading in the securities of emerging companies and smaller public companies; and
• Public reporting and corporate governance requirements of emerging companies and smaller public companies.

“The SEC’s decision-making benefits from a wide array of inputs, including perspectives of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee and its members,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. “I look forward to working with the committee to continue upholding the SEC’s mandate to facilitate capital formation for companies of all sizes, while protecting investors across America.”

Members of the public interested in serving on the committee should promptly email a letter of interest to smallbusiness@sec.gov with applicable information about their relevant experience. The deadline for submissions is June 14, 2024.

Relevant experience may include:

• Representing emerging companies engaging in private and limited securities offerings or considering an initial public offering (IPO), professional advisors of such companies (including attorneys, accountants, investment bankers, and financial advisors), and investors in such companies;
• Service as an officer or director of minority-owned small businesses or women-owned small businesses;
• Representing smaller public companies, the professional advisors of such companies (including attorneys, accountants, investment bankers, and financial advisors), and the pre-IPO and post-IPO investors in such companies; and
• Representing participants in the marketplace for the securities of emerging companies and smaller public companies, such as securities exchanges, alternative trading systems, analysts, information processors, and transfer agents.

“I am grateful to William for his service to the SEC and to the investing public,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “William has overseen our work to strengthen oversight of investment companies and investment advisers – from data reporting to fund names to money market reforms. These reforms will help American investors save for homes, college, and retirement.”

Chair Gensler added, “I thank Natasha for taking on this new role as Division Director. Natasha brings deep and broad expertise to the Division, both having led the agency’s Investment Adviser/Investment Company examination program and having served in other key leadership roles over her more than two decades at the SEC.”

Mr. Birdthistle joined the SEC in December 2021. In his time at the SEC, Mr. Birdthistle oversaw the adoption of major rulemakings related to private fund advisers and their reporting on Form PF, as well as to public funds, including money market fund reforms, tailored shareholder reports, and revisions to the fund Names Rule. He also inaugurated the SEC’s annual Conference on Emerging Trends in Asset Management.

Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Birdthistle was on the faculty at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he earned the school’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2010. He also has served as a visiting professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, where he won the Award for Teaching Excellence in 2019. Earlier in his career, he practiced law at Ropes & Gray in Boston for five years as a corporate associate in the firm’s investment management practice. Mr. Birdthistle received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he served as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review; a B.A. summa cum laude in English and psychology from Duke University in 1995; and an M.A. in history from the University of Chicago in 2021. Following his departure from the SEC, he will rejoin academia.

“Serving at the Securities and Exchange Commission has been the highest honor of my professional career, and I’m tremendously grateful for the inspiration and example set by my dedicated colleagues in the Division of Investment Management,” said Mr. Birdthistle. “I am particularly thankful to Chair Gensler for offering me this opportunity to join a cohort of exemplary public servants in their vigilant stewardship of America’s life savings.”

In addition to serving as Deputy Director of the Division of Examinations, Ms. Greiner is the National Associate Director of the Investment Adviser/Investment Company (IA/IC) examination program, which includes the Private Funds Unit, and is the Associate Director of the Home Office IA/IC examination program. She began her SEC career in the Division of Examinations (formerly OCIE) as a broker-dealer examiner and has served in a variety of roles across the agency for more than 22 years, including Acting Chief Counsel and Assistant Chief Counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets, where she provided legal and policy advice to the Commission on rules affecting market participants and the operation of the securities markets. Before that, Ms. Greiner worked in the Division of Enforcement, including in its Asset Management Unit, where she investigated possible violations of the federal securities laws and litigated matters in federal district court and administrative proceedings. Ms. Greiner received her J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and graduated cum laude with a B.S. degree from James Madison University.

“I am excited for the opportunity to lead the exceptional staff in the Division of Investment Management,” said Ms. Greiner. “I have been fortunate to work with dedicated and talented staff across the agency during my SEC tenure and have a great respect for the staff and the work of the Commission. I look forward to bringing my unique perspective and experience to this new role and continuing to support the SEC’s tripartite mission.”