SEC Office of the Investor Advocate Delivers to Congress Report on Activities for Fiscal Year 2025

• An update on the office’s investor research activities, including the issuance of a working paper on accredited investors and their ownership of private market securities;
• A discussion of the office’s engagements with a broad range of investors, and the office’s collaborative efforts both within and outside the SEC to help amplify the voices of investors;
• A discussion of the office’s ongoing advocacy efforts with respect to private markets, disclosure, and the impact of certain rule proposals;
• A report describing the Ombuds Office’s efforts to assist investors, as well as the matters handled by that office during the fiscal year.

The Office of the Investor Advocate is an independent office that was established by Congress to: assist retail investors in resolving problems with the Commission and self-regulatory organizations (SROs); identify areas where investors would benefit from changes in SEC and SRO rules and regulations; identify investor problems with financial service providers and investment products; analyze the potential impact on investors of proposed regulations and rules of the SEC and SROs; and propose regulatory or legislative changes to the Commission and to Congress that might mitigate investor problems and promote investor interests.