by Christine Hall
August 4, 2008

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2008—On Aug. 1, Paul S. Atkins ended his six-year term as Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Competitive Enterprise Institute President Fred L. Smith, Jr., and director of CEI’s Center for Entrepreneurship John Berlau commend Atkins’ devoted service to investors and entrepreneurs.

“Whether you were a small investor looking to build your nest egg by exercising your judgment on risk and return, or a small entrepreneur seeking public capital to build your innovative new business, Paul Atkins was looking out for you,” says Berlau. “He was a great advocate for publicly-traded companies and their shareholders, primarily because he realized that the interests of these two parties weren’t necessarily contradictory. He argued forcefully that legitimate investors and entrepreneurs suffer when regulatory burdens take away from a company’s focus on shareholder return."

Smith and Berlau both praise the vigorous economic research conducted by Atkins and his staff to determine the economic consequences of SEC policies. They note that dissenting votes on rules governing hedge funds and mutual funds by Atkins and then-Commissioner Cynthia Glassman were vindicated when federal courts overturned these SEC decisions. And they also hail Atkins success at persuading the SEC to stop levying large corporate fines that punish a company’s shareholders for the bad acts of individual executives.

“He recognized early on that these fines make shareholders pay twice for corporate fraud,” Berlau said. “The SEC policy has been largely changed to punish individual actors rather than the company as a whole, due in substantial part to Commissioner Atkins’ arguments.”

Smith says Atkins’ good work will continue. “Paul Atkins went into the public sector never forgetting the dynamism of the private sector. As a result, he remained in touch with the investors and entrepreneurs he was there to serve. He utilized his private-sector experience to provide a vital check on a large bureaucracy, and he will continue to be an important voice on public policy.”

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