SEC Proposes Updates to Ethics Rules Governing Securities Trading by Personnel

The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed amendments to its ethics rules to strengthen and modernize its ethics compliance program. The amendments would add new requirements and prohibitions to the program, which already includes some of the most stringent ethics requirements in the executive branch for all agency employees, their spouses, and minor children. "I was pleased to support today’s proposal to strengthen, modernize, and optimize the SEC’s ethics requirements," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "We at the Securities and Exchange Commission are entrusted by the public to oversee the U.S. capital markets. These amendments, if adopted, would help ensure that the SEC honors the trust that the public has placed in us." Currently, SEC employees are required to preclear securities transactions and comply with minimum holding periods.