At the 2026 SEC Speaks Conference held in Washington, D.C., Acting Enforcement Director Sam Waldon declared that the Commission’s Enforcement Division is moving “full steam ahead” by focusing on quality over quantity and bringing actions against those who “lie, cheat, and steal.” With case quality as the Division’s benchmark, Waldon rejected traditional metrics—case counts, penalty totals, and aggregate dollar amounts—as effective measures of the SEC’s enforcement program.
Source: SEC Enforcement Speaks in 2026: Enforcement Division Moves “Full Steam Ahead” with Focus on Quality over Quantity, Procedural Fairness, and Targeted Pursuit of Non-Fraud Violations