Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. SEC, delivered a speech at the Investor Advisory Committee meeting. Paul Atkins stated that he requested the SEC to approve the release of a concept release to gather public feedback on whether the standard should be updated to reflect the evolution of financial markets and corporate legal structures.

The SEC welcomes foreign companies seeking access to the U.S. capital markets. Our goal is to better understand the significant changes in the number of foreign companies listed in the U.S. over the past twenty years and their impact on U.S. investors and the U.S. market. Significant changes include the composition of foreign companies reporting to the SEC and the trend of registering in jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands, which are subject to governance frameworks involving shareholder interests, different from the company's headquarters and operational jurisdiction. Given these changes, I believe it is necessary to consider whether the basis and current standards that the SEC originally provided for foreign companies are still reasonable.

Meanwhile, the second panel discussion today will explore the regulatory framework for managing retail investors' access to private market assets. Specifically, from 2002 to recently, closed-end funds that invest 15% or more of their assets in private funds were limited to investors meeting the qualified investor criteria. Therefore, for over twenty years, retail investors who do not meet the qualified investor criteria have lacked access to private market assets. The committee is exploring how to promote individual investor participation in the private market while protecting these investors from misconduct and fraud. There is demand from investors for these products. However, we must also establish appropriate guardrails to guide retirement funds and other funds to invest in these private investment tools reasonably.