Laura Simone Unger, former acting chair of the Securities & Exchange Commission, will speak on Friday, July 26, during AIMR’s Financial Analysts Seminar where she will address client confidence in today’s markets along with the SEC’s future agendas.
We spoke with the IA Speaker of the Month about life after the SEC, investment objectives, and what she thinks should be done about fraudulent disclosure.
What have you been doing since leaving the SEC? Funny, my husband asks me that question all the time. I joined a board and have been working on some consulting projects. I’ve also done quite a few speaking engagements, specifically about analyst conflicts and what it will take to put things back together–especially after Enron.
What will you be covering at the financial analysts seminar next month? In April 2001, I gave a speech about analyst conflicts. So I’ll go over that again, along with pursuing what needs to be done at the regulatory level, supervisory chain of command, compensation structures, stock ownership, and disclosure of stock ownership.
Is there anything planners should keep in mind after 9/11 and post-Enron? Pay very close attention to your clients’ investment objectives. Planners and advisors need to do their due diligence and extensively research the companies they invest in on behalf of their clients. What we are now seeing is client backlash from a time when people were a little bit more complacent when it came to research. Planners need to spend more time on fundamental analysis and be knowledgeable about things like the company’s earnings, sales, cash flow, if they have a responsive board, and the auditors, if any.