SEC Chair Nominee Jay Clayton Looks Forward To Incentivize Activists

The nominee to replace Mary Jo White as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) faced a grilling by the U.S. Senate banking committee yesterday in which activism played a major role. Questioned directly about whether the SEC under his leadership would seek to help or hinder activists, including by reforming disclosure rules, Jay Clayton said the benefit or otherwise of activist investors was “going to be an ongoing debate, I understand the contours of it, and I look forward to working on it.” He followed up by saying that he wanted to incentivize activists but also ensure that…