Market players expect an SEC with a lighter touch (MarketWatch)

By recently settling its prior SEC cases, Robinhood is one market participant looking to move beyond the regulator’s tough enforcement measures with its investing platform. It should now be easier for the company to work with the new incoming SEC administration. In the lead comments, Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, states that the new administration may not be as interested in Robinhood unless a new market event emerges within the next four years where it is a key player. Ms. Lynch adds that previously, its democratization of trading approach that relied on gamification as part of its interface did not go over well with the Gary Gensler-led SEC. In settling cases that involved violations of 10 different securities laws, Robinhood, as are other firms in the fintech space, now looks to the new SEC, to be led by Chairman Paul Atkins, to institute a less aggressive regulatory environment that favors free markets. See MarketWatch (subscription required), “Trump’s SEC should be good for Robinhood. The platform’s latest SEC settlement is proof of that.”