HEY! CALL IT THE SECURITIES AND JOB EXCHANGE COMMISSION!

The Securities and Exchange Commission spent much of last year coping with an outflow of its top enforcement staff even as it tried to oversee a rapidly growing industry.

The highest-ranking officials to leave were two directors – Barry Barbash of the Division of Investment Management, which oversees mutual funds and large investment advisers, and William McLucas of the Division of Enforcement. Both long-term employees left to make more money at private law firms.

The brain drain coincided with increasing demand by mutual funds for lawyers familiar with the agency’s ever-expanding rules and regulations. The commission, of course, needs the very same expertise. As turnover increased at the SEC, response times to routine filings became longer, industry officials reported. One possible place to look for a solution: filing fees for the securities industry that reap far more in revenue for the government than it takes to operate the SEC.