Ocean City Beach Patrol alumnus turned chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, is coming to speak with Ocean City High School students.
The former lifeguard is making his return to Ocean City on Friday, May 24, at 1 p.m. to discuss the financial markets, economy, financial education and investing in the long term.
Clayton was nominated to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 20, 2017, by President Donald Trump and sworn in on May 4, 2017.
Since joining the commission, Clayton has focused on the long-term interests of America’s retail investors, a perspective he shares with the SEC staff.
Clayton has made it a priority to increase the access of retail investors to a diverse range of investment opportunities and see that they continue to benefit from the protections of our securities laws, according to a press release.
Key areas of focus for Clayton include:
- Making the capital markets more accessible to businesses and investors alike, while ensuring the United States continues to be the world’s leader in terms of effective disclosure and other investor protections; and
- Examining and addressing equity and fixed income market structure issues with an emphasis on fairness, efficiency and resiliency, recognizing that our markets are ever-changing.
He also has been outspoken on securities law issues related to distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings.
Prior to joining the SEC, Clayton was a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where he was a member of the law firm’s Management Committee and co-head of the firm’s corporate practice.
Clayton has authored publications on securities law, cybersecurity, and other regulatory issues. From 2009 to 2017, he was a law lecturer and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
A member of the New York and Washington, D.C. bars, Clayton earned a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a B.A. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
He was born at Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia, and was raised primarily in central and southeastern Pennsylvania. In his professional career, he has lived in Philadelphia, New York, London, and Washington, D.C.
