Recently, I blogged about the 20 Corp Fin Directors we’ve had at the SEC (we haven’t heard yet who will be the new Corp Fin Director) – and it got me thinking about Manny Cohen, whom many of us don’t know much about since he worked at the SEC so long ago. Here’s an excerpt about Manny from an “SEC Historical Society” interview with David Ratner:
“Not only was he a brilliant lawyer in the sense of making complicated legal arguments, but he knew everything about the SEC. He knew a great deal about securities law, and he had a good understanding of politics and how things work in Washington. He was just a very dynamic, exciting person to work for.
I wrote a tribute to him after he, unfortunately, died in 1977, which I entitled ‘Manny Cohen, the Bureaucrat as Entrepreneur.’ Even though he’d worked at the SEC for maybe twenty-five years at that time, he was not a bureaucrat.
He was the chief executive officer of the SEC, which to him was in competition with other agencies to do the best possible job in regulating the fields in which it was engaged, to undertake new things, to embark on new initiatives.”
Here are seven other things to know about Manny:
1. First SEC Staffer to rise to SEC Chair
Manny was the first person to ascend from within the SEC ranks to become its Chair. He joined the SEC in 1942 as a junior attorney and, over 27 years, rose through the ranks to become Chair in 1964.
2. Champion of insider trading enforcement
He significantly expanded the SEC’s enforcement against insider trading. Under his leadership, the SEC brought key cases that developed the theories of insider trading enforcement still relied upon today.
3. Advocate for mutual fund reforms
He pushed for reforms in the mutual fund industry, targeting unfair practices and advocating for reduced management fees to protect average investors.
4. Promoter of transparency and disclosure
Manny was a strong proponent of transparency in the markets. He emphasized the importance of disclosure and worked to ensure that investors had access to accurate and timely information.
5. Critic of economic power concentration
He voiced concerns about the concentration of economic power, particularly in conglomerates, arguing that they often made less information available to investors, hindering informed decision-making.
6. Respected educator and mentor
Beyond his regulatory work, he was a dedicated educator, serving as a Professor at George Washington University Law School. Manny mentored many young lawyers, emphasizing the importance of ethics and public service. This was back in the era of a much smaller SEC, where it was easier for SEC staffers to have direct contact with the Chair.
7. International influence
After his tenure at the SEC, Manny advised clients on securities industry matters in various countries – including Israel, the Republic of China, Canada, Brazil and several European nations, reflecting his global impact on securities regulation.
Authored by
Broc Romanek