Patrick Donachie

The SEC Enforcement Division's annual report also detailed how the regulator had dealt with the enforcement ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis.

The newly established Herold & Lantern Investments will include more than 60 professionals in offices in New York, New Jersey, Texas and California.

Critics worry that the latest rule changes will weaken investor protections by expanding the number of investors who could access the markets yet would be unable to sustain heavy losses.

The division will begin hosting online seminars on financial investment education and wealth literacy, and will bolster partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The rule, which would limit how fiduciaries use ESG screens in retirement plan investment recommendations, provoked intense criticism during its public comment period.

The new rule would demand that registered representatives would need written approval from their firm to act as a beneficiary, trustee or executor, or hold power of attorney for a client.

The SEC said the charged individuals worked in boiler rooms soliciting investors while they received commissions from sales of securities they were asked to promote.

Even as the Trump administration races to finalize a rule restricting ESG investments in retirement plans, there are still a number of ways in which a Democratic win next week could reverse the decision, according to...