Veteran regulator Robert Plaze to retire from SEC

A veteran regulator who has been instrumental on issues involving the investment advisory sector is leaving the Securities and Exchange Commission. Robert Plaze, deputy director of the Division of Investment Management, will retire at the end of this month, according to an SEC statement released yesterday. He joined the division in 1983. Mr. Plaze, 56, most recently helped shaped proposals for reforming money market mutual funds. In an appearance at the Mutual Fund Directors Forum in June, he said that the recommendations include allowing the funds' traditional $1 net asset value to fluctuate, requiring the funds to establish capital reserves or setting redemption restrictions. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has maintained that money market funds remain susceptible to runs that could destabilize financial markets. The funds require further reforms beyond those implemented in 2010 in response to the Reserve Primary Fund's “breaking the buck” during the 2008 financial crisis, she has argued. The financial industry has engaged in a fierce campaign opposing additional money fund changes. The reform package is being circulated among the five SEC commissioners, according to published reports. It would take three votes to advance a proposed rule. It isn't clear whether Ms. Schapiro has obtained that level of support. “When the director schedules a [commission] meeting, we'll be ready,” Mr. Plaze told reporters on the sidelines of the Mutual Fund Directors Forum. “We understand the issues and are waiting for direction from the chair.” During his 29-year tenure in the division, Mr. Plaze, an attorney, has served as special counsel, assistant director, associate director for regulatory policy and deputy director. In addition to money market fund reform, he recently helped write rules implementing hedge fund and private-fund registration requirements. Mr. Plaze also has been deeply involved in rule making pertaining to mutual funds, investment adviser client brochures and “pay to play” practices. “Few people have had as great an impact shaping the regulatory landscape for the benefit of individual investors,” Ms. Schapiro said in a statement. “Bob's keen intellect and passion for investor protection have been central to virtually every significant rule affecting mutual funds and investment advisers for more than a generation.”