FMQ 2025

FMQ 2025: U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins discuss IPOs and Risk Reporting

September 26, 2025 Version: 4 https://finpolicy.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AP3_6816.jpg

What does Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, have to say to critics who say he’s implementing a light-touch philosophy when it comes to regulation?

He says if the “heavy-handed” approach is regulation through enforcement, that’s an unfair approach.

“The alternative is then to chase things off shore [and] cede the innovative spirit that makes America so special,” Atkins said.

In a conversation during the 2025 Financial Markets Quality Conference with Professor Reena Aggarwal, Atkins discussed his goals including making IPOs “cool” again, working with the Labor Department on offering private markets to retail investors in retirement savings plans, and “innovation exemption” for crypto products.