Arthur Levitt Speaker Biography
Arthur Levitt served as the 25th Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). First appointed in July 1993, Chairman Levitt was re-appointed to a second five-year term in May 1998. He has the unique distinction of being the longest serving Chairman in the Commission's history.
During his career as head of the SEC, investor protection was Chairman Levitt's top priority. Throughout his tenure at the Commission, Chairman Levitt worked to educate, empower, and protect America's investors.
Over the past seven years Chairman Levitt has conducted more than 40 investor town meetings throughout the country to listen to the concerns of investors and give them tips on safe and wise participation in the securities markets.
A proven expert in his field, Chairman Levitt has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of the financial reporting process, maintain the independence of auditors, and save investors billions of dollars by reducing spreads in the Nasdaq market. He also promoted the requirement that important information be released to all investors simultaneously, as well as fought Internet fraud and cleaned up the municipal bond market.
Before joining the Commission, Chairman Levitt owned Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill. From 1989 to 1993, he served as the Chairman of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and from 1978 to 1989 he was the Chairman of the American Stock Exchange. Prior to joining the American Stock Exchange, Chairman Levitt worked for 16 years on Wall Street.
His book, Take on the Street: The Ultimate Insider Reveals the Hidden Costs and Dangers of Investing on Wallstreet was released in October of 2002, and quickly appeared on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week Bestseller lists.
The Future of Corporate Governance
Perhaps nothing's more important – and more difficult – than navigating the compliance and regulatory issues governing today’s market. For corporations to survive and thrive, a clear coherent understanding of Sarbanes-Oxley regulation, along with current and potential regulation is not only important, but necessary. Former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt provides audiences with innumerable strategies to continue being compliant – and avoid penalties and investigations.
Take On The Street
Former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt’s sympathies have always been with the everyday investor: from establishing a website that allows free and easy access to corporate filings and investor education materials to holding numerous investor town meetings throughout the country to hear investors’ concerns, Levitt has always made their needs a priority. In this presentation, based on his best-selling book of the same name, Levitt reveals the tactics of wise investment in plain language, then spells out how to intelligently invest in mutual funds and the stock market. His advice, aimed not only at individual investors but also at brokerages and investment houses, shows audiences how to interpret annual reports, understand press releases and draw from more from reliable sources.
Pensions – The Coming Crisis
The pension crisis for U.S. businesses and employees is once again making headlines, threatening to engulf U.S. automakers as it did with steel companies and the airline industry. For three decades, the current pension structure has allowed a “shell-game” system of pension accounting to develop that misleads taxpayers and investors about the true fiscal health of their cities and companies, while allowing management to make promises to workers that saddle future generations with huge costs. Solutions are underway: proposals to shore up the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) are making their way through Congress. However, the problem will only get worse unless immediate action is taken to bring accuracy, transparency and accountability to pension accounting. Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, provides an all-too-salient discussion of the current pension problems faced by today’s economy, along with recommendations about repairing them – for both the short and long term.
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