After criticism that regulators over-corrected after the age of Enron, some observers say they see the
Investor advocated have criticized Cox for not pushing further for tighter regulation of hedge funds and for appearing at the
“You look at a parade of items and it begins to look to me like this commission is starting to take an historic shift away from investor interests,” said James Cox, a professor of law at
Cox refuted such suggestions.
“The United States government has an agency that services businesses and it is the
“And if they attempt to drive a wedge between the interests of investors and the interests of management, we will be their relentless enemies,” he warned.
As a Republican former Congressman from Southern Calif., Cox sponsored laws to make it easier for companies to use stock options in compensating executives, and more difficult for investors to sue.
At the SEC, however, his hallmark has been more transparent pay. Some business leaders have criticized his support to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as harmful to American business.
“The inference that some have drawn that [foreign] competition is caused by regulation is wrong,” he said. “Some have made the case that our strong regulation and enforcement are indeed the cause of the opposite,” he said.
The SEC agenda for the upcoming year affirms the SEC commitment to investor protection Cox noted. Among the initiatives includes making clearer fees associated with 401(k) statements.
The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.