In a move to better protect investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it is planning to improve the handling of whistleblower complaints and enforcement tips.

The SEC is working with the Center for Enterprise Modernization, a federally-funded research and development center operated by The MITRE Corp. to immediately conduct a comprehensive review of internal procedures used to evaluate tips, complaints, and referrals. The agency said it is seeking to establish a more centralized process that will more effectively identify valuable leads for potential enforcement action as well as areas of high risk for compliance examinations.

Hundreds of thousands of tips and complaints come in each year through various forms including e-mail, phone calls and faxes, the SEC said. The review aims to centralize those pieces of information as the bulk of them are sent to various divisions within the commission's Washington headquarters and its 11 regional offices nationwide.