The
Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Diane C.
Blizzard, Associate Director of the agency's Division of Investment
Management, is planning to leave the agency at the end of May after 18
years of service.
Since 2012, Ms. Blizzard has led the Division's
rulemaking offices in developing policy recommendations and rule changes
under the federal securities laws affecting investment companies and
investment advisers.
"Main Street investors are better off today because
of Diane's public service and commitment to enhancing and modernizing
the regulatory landscape for the asset management industry," said SEC
Chairman Jay Clayton. "She has a deep appreciation for the vital role
that our securities laws and our capital markets play in the lives of
investors across the country."
"Throughout her distinguished career with the
Commission, Diane has been a thoughtful and creative leader," said Dalia
Blass, Director of the Division of Investment Management. "Her legacy
will be reflected not only in the initiatives that she has led, which
include some of the Division's most significant rules affecting the
asset management industry and Main Street investors, but also in the
remarkable team that she has developed and mentored."
Ms. Blizzard previously served in a number of
positions in the Division of Investment Management during two tours of
duty, including Managing Executive of the Division, Senior Adviser to
the Director, and Assistant Director of the Office of Regulatory Policy. She rejoined the staff in 2007. Notably, she was a member of the special task force that produced the 1992 staff report, Protecting Investors: A Half Century of Investment Company Regulation. Later,
as Assistant Director, Ms. Blizzard worked to gain Commission approval
of a number of rules recommended in the report, including initiatives
related to fund distribution, mutual fund advertising, multiple share
classes, corporate governance, and "interval" funds.
Ms. Blizzard most recently helped shape new
regulations designed to enhance regulatory safeguards for the evolving
$83 trillion asset management industry. These
included new rules and forms, adopted in 2016, that enhance and
modernize data reporting by registered funds and require mutual funds
and exchange traded funds to implement liquidity risk management
programs. Ms. Blizzard also
played a key role in the SEC's efforts to reform the regulation of money
market funds and to implement rules mandated by the JOBS Act and the
Dodd-Frank Act, including the Volcker Rule.
Ms. Blizzard said, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve American investors as a staff member of this great agency. I
have been fortunate to work with an incredible group of talented
professionals who support each other, share a deep commitment to public
service and the Commission's mission, and collaboratively work on some
of the most important policy issues we face as regulators of financial
products and services relied on by millions to save for their futures."
Ms. Blizzard has received more than a dozen awards
for her service, including the Distinguished Service Award, the SEC's
highest honor, in 2014, and the Chair's Award for Distinguished
Leadership and Vision, in 2016, in recognition of Ms. Blizzard's
achievements in developing strong teams and inspiring collaboration with
internal colleagues, as well as with outside organizations. From 1995-2002, Ms. Blizzard was associate counsel with ICI Mutual Insurance Company. Before joining the SEC for the first time in 1987, she was in private practice in Washington, D.C. She received her bachelor's degree, cum laude, from Duke University and her law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center.