The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that HLS Professor John Coates was appointed a member of its Investor Advisory Committee. Coates, research director of HLS’s Center on the Legal Profession, is one of three new members to join the committee.

The two other new members are former SEC Chairman and Commissioner Elisse Walter ’74 and Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president, chief advocacy & engagement officer of AARP.  The SEC also reappointed five members whose terms recently expired, including Damon Silvers HLS/HBS ’96, director of policy and special counsel, AFL-CIO.

The committee was established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to advise the commission on regulatory priorities, regulation of securities products, trading strategies, fee structures, disclosure effectiveness, and initiatives to protect investors and promote investor confidence and the integrity of the U.S. securities markets. 

“I welcome the new members and thank all members who have served and continue to serve on the Investor Advisory Committee,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White. “The commission and investors have significantly benefited from the service of the members of the committee. They work hard and have compiled an impressive body of work on a wide range of important issues. Their vigorous commitment to investor interests, investor confidence, and the integrity of the securities marketplace is very important and much appreciated.”

Members of the committee represent a wide variety of interests, including senior citizens and other individual investors, mutual funds, pension funds, and state securities regulators. 

The reappointed members of the Committee are:

  • Stephen Holmes HBS, general partner emeritus, InterWest Partners
  • Barbara Roper, director of investor protection, Consumer Federation of America
  • Kurt Schacht, managing director, CFA Institute
  • Anne Sheehan, director of corporate governance, California State Teachers’ Retirement System
  • Damon Silvers HLS/HBS ’96, director of policy and special counsel, AFL-CIO

The new and reappointed members will join the following members, who continue to serve their terms, including HLS alums Matthew Furman ’94 and Lisa Fairfax ’95.

  • Joseph V. Carcello, department head and professor, University of Tennessee Department of Accounting and Information Management, and Executive Director, University of Tennessee Corporate Governance Center
  • Lisa Fairfax ’95, Leroy Sorenson Merrifield Research Professor of Law, and Director of Conference Programs, C-LEAF, The George Washington University Law School
  • Rick Fleming, Investor Advocate, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Matthew Furman ’94, Executive Vice President and Group General Counsel, Willis Group
  • Craig Goettsch, Director of Investor Education and Consumer Outreach, Iowa Insurance Division
  • William Lee, Senior Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer, New York-Presbyterian
  • Hester Peirce, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
  • Susan Ferris Wyderko, President and CEO, Mutual Fund Directors Forum

The Investor Advisory Committee’s next meeting will take place Thursday, July 14, and will be available to view via webcast at sec.gov.