On September 27, 2018, SEC Commissioner Kara Stein gave a speech at Georgia State University School of Law titled “From the Data Rush to the Data Wars: A Data Revolution in Financial Markets” which focused on the importance of data and technology. Below is an excerpt from the speech.
“Slowly but surely, the Commission is transitioning its reporting requirements towards a more data centric model.
Moving towards a world of structured data benefits all users, which is why it is difficult to find reasons why information submitted to the Commission should not be in a machine readable format. For instance, investors, with the help of data aggregation platforms and tools, can ultimately use this information to compare investments—like many of us do when we shop online. Academia, data aggregators, and governments can use this type of data to, for example, conduct research more quickly and to answer difficult and complex questions about systematic risk at the aggregated level with much less effort. And companies, funds, and other issuers can use the data to run data analytics across their peers, analyze their own risk profiles, and develop investments that better align with investors’ goals.
While data and data analytics can help the Commission prevent fraud, protect investors, and inform decision-making, it also helps inform intelligent and effective policy-making. I strongly believe in using facts to design good public policy. As such, analyzing and understanding data is critical to shaping future regulation. As the primary regulator of the financial markets, the Commission should employ a multi-disciplinary approach to analyzing and understanding market data. By deploying data scientists to work alongside the lawyers and accountants of the Commission, I believe the Commission will embark on a new model for enhancing both the efficiency and the effectiveness of its oversight.”
Read the full speech.
