The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the appointment of Cristina Martin Firvida as the new director of the office of the investor advocate.
As the chief investor advocate, Martin Firvida will lead an office that assists retail investors in interactions with the SEC and with self-regulatory organizations, analyzing the impact on investors of proposed rules and regulations, identifying problems that investors have with financial service providers and investment products, and proposing legislative or regulatory changes to promote the interests of investors.
“Cristina Martin Firvida brings deep experience to the role of investor advocate, and I am pleased she is joining the SEC,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said. “I look forward to working with her. I’d also like to thank Marc Sharma for helping advance the office of the investor advocate’s important work over the last six months.”
“I’m proud to join the SEC in this critical role,” Martin Firvida said. “Investor protection is core to the SEC’s mission, and Congress reaffirmed that commitment by ensuring that the agency has an office exclusively dedicated to representing the needs of investors. I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues to serve investors in America’s capital markets.”
Martin Firvida was most recently the vice president of financial security and livable communities for government affairs at AARP. At AARP, she oversaw federal and state advocacy on Social Security, pensions, retirement savings, financial services and other aspects of retirement financial security, as well as the federal budget, taxes, labor, housing, telecommunications, utilities, transportation and fraud.