SEC names Blass Investment Management Director

Originally published on 05 September 2017

The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Dalia Blass as Director of the agency's Division of Investment Management.

The SEC's Division of Investment Management works to protect investors and to promote capital formation and innovation in investment products and services through oversight and regulation of the nation’s multi-trillion dollar investment management industry. The division is responsible for the Commission's regulation of investment companies, variable insurance products, and federally registered investment advisers.

"Dalia's years of service here at the SEC and extensive experience in the private sector will make her a valuable asset to the agency and the Division of Investment Management," said Chairman Jay Clayton. "The investment management industry is constantly evolving, yet its integrity is vital to our markets and Main Street investors. I know Dalia and the dedicated team in the Investment Management Division recognize this and will continue to work every day to fulfill the SEC’s mission."

Blass returns to the SEC after previously serving in a number of leadership roles in the Division of Investment Management, most recently as Assistant Chief Counsel. During her SEC tenure of more than a decade, she received the SEC's Manuel F. Cohen Award, which recognizes outstanding legal ability and performance.

"It is an enormous honor to return to the SEC to work with Chairman Clayton, Commissioners Stein and Piwowar, and the talented and hard-working staff in the Division of Investment Management and across the agency," said Blass. "The asset management industry is more important than ever to American investors and to our capital markets. I am humbled by the opportunity to lead the Division and to promote opportunities for capital formation and innovation that benefits investors."

She joins the agency from Ropes & Gray LLP, where she advised on a broad range of investment fund, private equity, and regulatory matters. She previously practiced law at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and began her career in the London office of Shearman & Sterling LLP.

Blass earned a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Executive Editor of the Journal of Transnational Law. She received her B.A in international studies from the American University and studied political science at the American University in Cairo.