It’s just over two years since Nasdaq launched its Revitalize Blueprint – a 25-point plan for how the capital markets could function more efficiently and effectively – and just two months since Nasdaq unveiled its Total Markets Blueprint for a Better Tomorrow.
At the NIRI annual conference in June, IR Magazine caught up with Randall Hopkins, vice president and head of capital markets reform and innovation at Nasdaq, who outlined the progress of Nasdaq’s lobbying initiatives on subjects including proxy advisory firm reform, short-seller disclosure and long-termism.
When asked about the current SEC leadership’s willingness to work with exchanges and issuers on these topics, Hopkins said: ‘We’re very encouraged and really commend the SEC leadership [based] on some of the most recent developments – such as the announcement of the roundtable on short-termism that was just announced, as well as the roundtable that was held last November on proxy plumbing and proxy advisory reform.
‘[The SEC has] shown a clear commitment to improving the capital markets experience for all in the ecosystem, certainly including investors, issuers and all members of the economy who would benefit from a thriving capital markets economy.’
Hopkins’ comments were echoed by Joe Saluzzi, partner and co-founder of Themis Trading, who praised the SEC leadership for its openness and willingness to engage on market structure issues.
Click here to view the full video interview with Hopkins and to access the archive of videos from the NIRI national conference.
