The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released its Examination Priorities for 2026, and while many supervisory themes continue from 2025, the tone and structure of the new document reflect a decisive pivot. After years of rapid organisational expansion and broadening remit, the Division of Examinations is now emphasising consistency, prioritisation and the effective use of limited resources. For compliance leaders and RegTech providers, the message is clear: the SEC expects programmes and controls to be mature, documented and risk-aligned — and examinations will increasingly reflect that discipline.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to feature prominently, but the framing has evolved. Where the 2025 priorities discussed AI largely in the context of its use in advisory and trading functions, the 2026 document highlights the operational, cyber and supervisory risks associated with rapid advances in AI technologies. The SEC’s concerns now extend to AI-enabled cyber threats, the accuracy of AI-related disclosures, and the adequacy of firms’ controls and oversight mechanisms.
Many long-standing themes — cybersecurity, fiduciary conduct, governance, retail investor protection — remain at the centre of the programme. But beneath this continuity sit a series of clear shifts in emphasis across investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, emerging technology and AML.
A Sharper Supervisory Focus and Resource Discipline
The SEC introduces the 2026 priorities by highlighting the need to operate with fewer resources while maintaining effectiveness. Staff are described as taking a more consistent, risk-based, and operationally focused approach to examinations. This is a notable shift from the more expansive tone of the 2025 priorities, which celebrated the programme’s 30-year evolution and the growth of specialist teams.
For firms, this translates into examinations that are more predictably risk-ranked, more reliant on quantitative insights, and more focused on governance and documentation quality.
Investment Advisers: Private-Fund Risks Absorbed Into the Fiduciary Framework
One structural change is the absence of a standalone private-fund section in the 2026 document. Instead, private-fund issues are integrated into the overarching fiduciary-duty review. The priorities call out product characteristics (alternative investments, private credit, long-lock-up strategies) and highlight specific risks associated with advisers who manage private funds alongside separately managed accounts.
Allocations, valuation, liquidity discipline, disclosures and conflicts remain areas of scrutiny — but now within a unified fiduciary framework rather than a separate risk domain. This reflects the reality of diversified adviser business models and encourages consistent standards across all client types.
Heightened Focus on Activist Filings and Operational Complexity After M&A
The SEC introduces a new governance emphasis for advisers engaged in activist strategies. Examinations will assess the accuracy and timeliness of key filings, including Schedules 13D and 13G, Form 13F, and Forms 3, 4 and 5, as well as voting and reporting transparency.
Separately, advisers that have merged, been acquired or consolidated are classified as higher-risk due to the potential for fragmented systems, inconsistent data, inherited conflicts and deficiencies in integration planning. Firms undergoing platform migrations or restructuring should expect detailed examinations of recordkeeping, data lineage and control alignment.
Complex Products and Higher-Cost Structures Under Closer Review
The 2026 priorities provide a more granular inventory of products that examiners will assess for suitability, disclosures and conflicts. These include:
- Alternative investments and private credit
- Less liquid or option-based ETF strategies
- Leveraged and inverse ETFs
- Products with higher-than-comparable fees or non-standard cost structures
This represents a meaningful tightening of the product-risk lens compared with 2025.
Names Rule Implementation Moves to the Forefront
The amended Investment Company Names Rule becomes one of the most prominent fund-related items in the 2026 priorities. With the compliance date approaching, the SEC will focus on firms’ ability to implement and monitor the “80% investment policy” and ensure alignment between portfolio holdings, disclosures and investor expectations.
This elevates expectations around portfolio classification systems, data quality, monitoring processes and escalation pathways. For many fund complexes, automation and high-quality data pipelines will be critical.
Broker-Dealer Priorities Reordered Around Financial Responsibility
A notable structural change appears in the broker-dealer section, where the 2026 priorities begin with Financial Responsibility Rules — ahead of sales practices, Reg BI and Form CRS. The SEC signals renewed attention to liquidity, market and credit-risk management, change-management controls, operational resiliency and the quality of financial reporting.
Prime brokerage activities and cash sweep programmes also feature more prominently, reflecting the regulator’s focus on concentration, liquidity and counterparty dynamics.
Market-Structure Emphasis: Extended Hours, ATS Controls and Municipal Markets
While 2025 placed significant weight on mobile trading and retail-facing digital engagement, the 2026 document shifts toward deeper market-structure considerations. Areas of focus now include:
- Extended-hours trading controls and best execution
- Variable-rate demand obligation (VRDO) reset processes
- Priority of orders and price transparency in municipal markets
- ATS safeguards to protect confidential subscriber information and alignment with Form ATS-N
This marks a maturing of supervisory attention beyond retail-driven trading phenomena.
Retail Sales Practices Refocused on Complex and Tax-Advantaged Products
The SEC continues to emphasise Reg BI and Form CRS but refines the list of priority products. Examinations will concentrate on:
- Registered index-linked annuities
- ETFs with exposure to private credit or private equity
- Municipal securities, including 529 education plans
- Private placements and structured products
- Products with complex fee structures or exotic benchmarks
By contrast, crypto assets and pre-IPO markets — prominent in 2025 — are no longer standalone focus areas in 2026. Their risks are now absorbed into broader supervisory areas such as custody, best execution and operational resilience.
Cybersecurity: AI-Enabled Threats and Resilience Expectations
Cybersecurity remains a perennial priority, but 2026 introduces new concerns tied to advances in AI. Examiners will evaluate:
- Firms’ ability to identify and mitigate risks from AI-driven or polymorphic malware
- Use of threat-intelligence sources and incident-response readiness
- Governance, access controls, data-loss prevention and account-management practices
This represents an evolution from 2025, where AI was discussed mostly in the context of advisory tools and trading algorithms.
AML: Focus on Omnibus Accounts and Updated Risk Assessments
Anti-money laundering expectations are sharpened in two areas:
- Risks associated with omnibus accounts maintained for foreign financial institutions
- The need for updated dynamically maintained AML risk assessments
The SEC also reiterates expectations for Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings, beneficial-ownership checks and oversight of intermediaries.
For RegTech providers, this will drive interest in risk-scoring automation, behavioural analytics and data-quality controls.
Conclusion: A Shift from Expansion to Precision
The SEC’s 2026 Examination Priorities reflect a regulatory programme entering a new phase — one defined by precision, consistency and risk-based selectivity. While many themes continue, the framing has evolved. AI now features prominently as both an operational opportunity and a security threat. Private-fund risks are blended into the broader fiduciary framework. Broker-dealer oversight begins with financial responsibility rather than retail conduct. And complex products, Names Rule implementation and municipal-market processes rise in prominence.
For compliance teams and RegTech providers, the implication is clear: firms must now demonstrate that governance, data integrity, controls and documentation are not only in place but are consistently applied across business lines. The SEC is sharpening its supervisory lens — and firms must be ready to demonstrate the maturity of their programmes with evidence.
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