Arthur Levitt
Arthur Levitt
Arthur Levitt Jr.was the twenty-fifth and longest-serving Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commissionfrom 1993 to 2001. Widely hailed as a champion of the individual investor, he has been criticized for not pushing for tougher accounting rules. Since May 2001 he has been employed as a senior adviser at the Carlyle Group. Levitt previously served as a policy advisor to Goldman Sachs and is a Director of Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg News...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPublic Servant
Date of Birth3 February 1931
CountryUnited States of America
It has been almost 30 years since significant steps were taken to improve the mutual fund governance structure, ... Whether shareholders realize it or not, how directors fulfill their responsibilities directly affects them every day.
Our purpose, as we face these challenges, remains clear - fair and orderly markets that allow for efficient capital formation, while protecting the interests of investors.
Our role is to maintain and monitor a framework in which fair competition can flourish.
That also has put pressure on analysts to report favorably on a company in order to maintain access to inside information,
The American economy is the eighth wonder of the world. The ninth is the economic ignorance of the American people.
While private equity will remain technically private, its actions will become the public's concern.
We are not looking for a bit of window dressing on the same old recycled gobbledygook, ... We expect you to do whatever it takes to speak to investors in a language they understand -- English.
Firms need to ensure that their ability to provide effective customer service keeps pace with their growth. If you're marketing your firm to new customers, you better be able to provide them service when they do business with you.
Although the Internet makes it seem as if you have a direct connection to the securities market, you don't. Lines may clog; systems may break; orders may back-up.
Today, the forces of competition, technology, and globalization have converged to spur innovation and to transform the way business is done in the securities industry.
George Orwell once blamed the demise of the English language on politics. It's quite possible he never read a prospectus.
We should never lose sight of the underlying essence of a market-a place where buyers and sellers come together. Every other feature-whether crafted by tradition or technology-exists only to serve that primary purpose.
I think that the failures of Enron and WorldCom and other companies are partially failures of investors to recognize companies that are selling for a thousand times nothing, but chances are they may be worth only that.
I think we have got to start thinking about banding together in terms of interested groups.