Top state securities cop to step down before 'the switch'

Ralph Lambiase, longtime director of securities for the state of Connecticut, will be retiring on Feb. 28. Mr. Lambiase, who has been a regulator with the state for 33 years, announced his departure earlier this month to his staff. He became director in 1987 and served as president of the North American Securities Administrators Association Inc. in 2004. Mr. Lambiase has been an outspoken defender of state regulatory powers in the face of numerous efforts by Congress and federal regulators to restrict states' oversight. "Ralph is an extremely skillful administrator [and has] navigated his way around a number of politically appointed banking commissioners," said Richard Slavin, a principal at Cohen and Wolf PC in Westport, Conn., and head securities regulator in the state from 1981 to 1983. "He's dealt with large budgets, small budgets and what we have now, which is an extremely constricted budget," Mr. Slavin said. In an interview, Mr. Lambiase said he felt the time had come to leave. "I was not pushed out," he said. "It's really a good job, because you get to wear a white hat and do what you think is the right thing," Mr. Lambiase said. "But at a certain point … you look at a lot of changes on horizon, whether it's Dodd-Frank, or you see all the states economically challenged, and I just personally don't want to be around long enough to see investors get harmed. … So look, I did my time." A replacement for Mr. Lambiase has not yet been named. That decision will be made by banking commissioner Howard Pitkin, Mr. Lambiase said. Connecticut's new governor, Dan Malloy, has talked about consolidating state agencies as a way to save money, Mr. Slavin added. Mr. Lambiase's departure comes at a time when Connecticut will add an estimated 135 additional investment advisers under Dodd-Frank to the 375 it now oversees, as well as an unknown number of private funds that may have to register with the state. Connecticut is a hotbed for hedge funds, trailing only New York and London, Mr. Lambiase said. States will figure out how to cope with the additional workload, he said. "States are all very resilient,” Mr. Lambiase said “We've all dealt with limited resources. We've always had to focus on shifting resources and priorities, so we're good at that."