SEC 2026: What Changed, What's Gone, and What to Do Now
If your compliance calendar still reflects the Gensler era, it's wrong. Chairman Paul Atkins, confirmed in April 2025, has reoriented the SEC around three pillars that look nothing like the prior administration's agenda, and the 2026 Regulatory Agenda published July 7, 2026 is the clearest statement yet of where the agency is heading. This article maps what the SEC is actually doing in 2026, what it has stopped doing, and what your compliance program needs to reflect right now.
Key takeaway: The Atkins SEC is deregulating disclosure, embracing digital assets, and tightening scrutiny on cybersecurity, AI governance, and Regulation S-P. Rules you were preparing for, including the climate disclosure mandate, are stayed or withdrawn. Prioritize accordingly.
What Are the SEC's Top Priorities in 2026?
The 2026 Regulatory Agenda organizes the SEC's work around three pillars: returning to core mission, embracing crypto innovation, and revitalizing public markets through IPO reform. These are not aspirational talking points. They are the filter through which every rulemaking proposal, enforcement action, and examination priority now runs.
Atkins framed it directly: "The 2026 Regulatory Agenda reflects the robust rulemaking we are pursuing under my chairmanship. Now that we are just over one year into my tenure, we have made significant progress in returning the agency to its core mission of protecting investors; facilitating capital formation; and maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets."
The three pillars in practice:
- Disclosure reform: Guided by materiality, the agenda proposes to reduce prescriptive disclosure burdens that the prior administration layered onto registrants. Expect continued rollback of Gensler-era mandates that went beyond what materiality requires.
- Digital asset innovation: The SEC is actively working to bring crypto products onshore, create clear capital-raising rules for digital assets, and provide custody and trading clarity for tokenized securities. Atkins has said the goal is to make the U.S. "the crypto capital of the world."
- IPO revitalization: The agenda explicitly targets reversing the decline in public companies. Atkins: "Every IPO is an invitation to workers and savers to participate in the prosperity of the next generation of American enterprise. When fewer companies go public, fewer investors receive that invitation." For more on what IPO reform means for small issuers, see what 'Make IPOs Great Again' would actually change.
What Has the SEC Stopped Doing? The Stayed and Withdrawn Rules
This is the section most compliance publications skip, and it's where teams are making costly mistakes.
The climate disclosure rules from the Gensler era are stayed. Compliance officers who built workstreams around Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reporting under the SEC's climate rule should pause those preparations. The rule has not been finalized and implemented in its original form, and the Atkins agenda signals no appetite to revive it. Do not treat it as a live obligation.
The private fund adviser rules were vacated by the Fifth Circuit. The sweeping private fund adviser rules that would have imposed quarterly statements, annual audits, and fairness opinion requirements on private fund advisers are gone. Private fund issues are now folded into broader thematic categories in the 2026 Exam Priorities rather than examined as a standalone category.
The broader deregulatory posture is real. The 2026 Regulatory Agenda is explicit that the disclosure regime will be transformed, guided by materiality, to reduce compliance burdens. Prescriptive Gensler-era mandates that went beyond what a reasonable investor would find material are under active review.
What this means practically:
- Stop building climate disclosure infrastructure for SEC purposes (CSRD obligations under EU law are a separate question)
- Reassess private fund compliance workstreams against the current, not the vacated, rule set
- Do not assume any Gensler-era proposal that was not finalized before January 2025 is still on track
What Are the 2026 SEC Examination Priorities?
The Division of Examinations released its 2026 Priorities on November 17, 2025, identifying five cross-cutting risk areas that apply across registrant types. These are the lenses examiners will use regardless of whether they are reviewing an investment adviser, broker-dealer, or registered investment company.
The five cross-cutting areas:
| Risk Area | What Examiners Will Test |
|---|---|
| Cybersecurity | Governance, data loss prevention, access controls, account management, incident response and recovery, ransomware preparedness, AI-related security risks |
| Regulation S-ID and S-P | Progress toward incident response program requirements; third-party vendor oversight; unauthorized access to customer information |
| Emerging Financial Technology (AI) | Disclosure accuracy, algorithm-to-investor-profile consistency, controls on automated decisions, compliance with regulatory obligations |
| Regulation SCI | Incident response policies and effectiveness; third-party vendor risk; identification of SCI systems and indirect SCI systems |
| Anti-Money Laundering | Program adequacy, independent testing, customer identification programs, SAR filing, OFAC sanctions monitoring |
As Debevoise partners Kristin Snyder, Charu Chandrasekhar, and Sheena Paul noted in their Harvard Law School Forum analysis: "The 2026 Priorities reflect both continuity and evolution. While the Division continues to emphasize long-standing themes, the Division also highlights emerging areas of focus, including cybersecurity and operational resiliency, firms' use of artificial intelligence and other automated technologies, and preparedness for the upcoming amendments to Regulation S-P."
Crypto Assets: Off the Exam List for the First Time Since 2018
Crypto assets are absent from the 2026 Exam Priorities as a standalone category for the first time in eight consecutive years. This is a deliberate signal, not an oversight. The Atkins administration's support for digital asset innovation means examiners are not treating crypto holdings or activities as inherently high-risk. That said, alternative investments including private credit remain in scope, and firms with crypto-adjacent activities should still ensure their general compliance frameworks cover those activities.
AI Governance: What Examiners Actually Test
The 2026 Exam Priorities are more specific about AI than any prior year. According to KPMG's regulatory alert on the 2026 priorities, examiners will assess:
- Whether AI-related disclosures are fair, accurate, and not misleading
- Whether actual operations and controls are consistent with what disclosures say
- Whether algorithms produce advice consistent with investor profiles
- Whether controls confirm that automated tool decisions comply with regulatory obligations
- Whether cybersecurity controls address AI-specific risks, including polymorphic malware
For firms using AI in investment decision-making or client-facing tools, this is a concrete checklist, not a vague aspiration. For a deeper framework on AI governance for finance teams, see AI model risk management: the 2026 practitioner's framework.
Regulation S-P: The Deadline That Snuck Up on Firms
Regulation S-P compliance is a 2026 exam priority, and examiners will specifically focus on progress toward upcoming compliance requirements for incident response programs covering unauthorized access to customer information. Third-party vendor oversight is also in scope. If your firm has not yet built a formal incident response program that covers customer data, this is the most immediate gap to close before an exam.
New in 2026: M&A Integration Compliance Risk
For the first time, the 2026 Exam Priorities flag M&A integration as a standalone compliance risk: where a registered adviser must integrate a previously exempt adviser into its compliance framework following a merger or change of control. As the Debevoise team put it: "For firms that have recently completed or are contemplating strategic transactions including changes of control, this priority signals that robust integration planning should be an integral part of routine SEC examination preparation." Deal teams need to loop compliance in before close, not after.
What Does the 2026 Regulatory Agenda Say About Private Markets?
The 2026 Regulatory Agenda includes a proposal to expand retail investor access to private markets with "appropriate safeguards." Atkins was direct: "Exposure to the full dynamism of our markets, both public and private, should not be reserved for wealthy insiders."
This signals a potential broadening of who qualifies as an accredited investor, or new pathways through vehicles like interval funds and business development companies (BDCs), which already offer retail access to private credit strategies. Fund managers and CFOs at private fund advisers should watch this proposal closely. It could materially expand the investor base for Regulation D offerings and affect how funds structure their retail-facing products.
The 45th Annual Small Business Forum, held March 9, 2026 at SEC headquarters, reinforced this theme, with the agency signaling continued focus on capital formation pathways for smaller issuers.
What Is the SEC Doing on 24-Hour Trading?
The SEC is hosting a roundtable on September 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET specifically on "Preparations for 24-Hour Trading," covering overnight trading operations, resiliency, and expansion opportunities and challenges. This is not a theoretical discussion. Several broker-dealers and alternative trading systems already offer overnight trading windows, and the SEC is actively working through the operational and regulatory infrastructure needed to support true 24-hour markets.
For broker-dealers and market infrastructure firms, the questions to start answering now:
- What does your overnight clearing and settlement process look like?
- Are your incident response and operational resiliency frameworks built for around-the-clock operations?
- How do your AML monitoring systems handle transactions outside traditional market hours?
This roundtable is the clearest near-term regulatory signal on market structure that the Atkins SEC has produced.
What Changed in the 2026 XBRL Taxonomy for SEC Filers?
FASB released the 2026 SEC Reporting Taxonomy (SRT), and XBRL filers must use the current supported taxonomy. The 2026 SRT covers elements for SEC-required financial schedules, condensed consolidating financial information for guarantors, and oil and gas producing activity disclosures. It also includes dimensional elements for GAAP filers.
The practical filing risk: if your XBRL software or tagging workflow is still pointed at the 2025 taxonomy, your structured data submissions may contain validation errors or use deprecated elements. FASB has published narrative release notes summarizing improvements since the 2025 release, an Excel version of modifications, nonsubstantive label changes, a technical guide, and a file reference list, all available from FASB's website.
Before your next filing, confirm with your XBRL vendor or internal team that software has been updated to the 2026 SRT. Review the release notes for any elements that affect your specific disclosures. For a broader look at how AI tools interact with EDGAR's structured data layer, see EDGAR AI explained: what it is and how it works in 2026.
2026 SEC Action Matrix by Registrant Type
The compliance priorities differ materially depending on your registration category. Here is where to focus:
| Registrant Type | Top 2026 Priorities |
|---|---|
| Investment Adviser | Fiduciary duty documentation (duty of care and loyalty); conflicts of interest disclosures for dually-registered advisers; AI tool controls and disclosure accuracy; Regulation S-P incident response program; marketing rule compliance; never-examined advisers face heightened exam risk |
| Broker-Dealer | AML program adequacy and independent testing; customer identification programs including beneficial owners; SAR filing obligations; OFAC sanctions monitoring; 24-hour trading operational readiness |
| Registered Investment Company (RIC) | Fund fees and expense documentation; portfolio management disclosures; AI-driven strategy controls; participation in mergers or transactions; complex strategy and less-liquid asset disclosures |
| Public Company | 2026 SRT XBRL taxonomy update; AI disclosure accuracy in MD&A and risk factors; cybersecurity incident response under Item 1.05 of Form 8-K; pause climate disclosure preparation for SEC purposes |
| Private Fund Adviser | M&A integration compliance planning; side-by-side management conflict documentation; alternative investment disclosures (private credit, extended lock-up funds); newly launched fund compliance frameworks |
2026 SEC Compliance Calendar
Key dates your team should have on the calendar:
- November 17, 2025: 2026 Examination Priorities released (already published, use as your exam prep baseline)
- March 9, 2026: 45th Annual Small Business Forum at SEC headquarters
- March 13, 2026: SEC Speaks 2026, hosted by the Practising Law Institute, Washington DC
- July 7, 2026: 2026 Regulatory Agenda published by Chairman Atkins
- September 14, 2026: Atkins keynote at Solana Summit: Washington x Wall Street (crypto regulatory signal)
- September 17, 2026: SEC Roundtable on Preparations for 24-Hour Trading, 10:00 AM ET
- October 27, 2026: 2026 Compliance Outreach Regional Seminar for Investment Advisers and Investment Companies, Denver and Salt Lake City, 10:00 AM ET
FAQ
Are the SEC's climate disclosure rules still in effect in 2026? No. The climate disclosure rules from the Gensler era are stayed and have not been implemented. Compliance teams should not treat them as live obligations for SEC filing purposes. Separate CSRD obligations under EU law apply to companies in scope of that framework regardless of SEC status.
What is the biggest new exam risk in 2026 that wasn't there before? M&A integration compliance is flagged for the first time: specifically, integrating a previously exempt adviser into a registered adviser's compliance framework post-merger. This is new and actionable for any firm that has completed or is planning a transaction involving a change of control.
Do crypto firms face SEC exam scrutiny in 2026? Crypto assets are no longer a standalone exam priority for the first time since 2018. However, firms with crypto-adjacent activities should still ensure general compliance frameworks cover those activities. The SEC is actively building a regulatory framework for tokenized securities and digital asset custody, which will create new obligations as rules are finalized.
What does Regulation S-P require and when does it apply? Regulation S-P requires broker-dealers and investment advisers to maintain an incident response program covering unauthorized access to or use of customer information, and to oversee third-party vendors with access to that data. Compliance with the amended requirements is a 2026 exam priority. Firms that have not yet built a formal incident response program should treat this as an immediate gap.
What should I do about the 2026 XBRL taxonomy update? Confirm with your XBRL software vendor that the 2026 SRT is supported and that your tagging workflow has been updated. Review FASB's release notes for any elements that affect your specific disclosures. Filing with a deprecated taxonomy can produce validation errors in EDGAR.
When is the next SEC compliance outreach event? The 2026 Compliance Outreach Program Regional Seminar for Investment Advisers and Investment Companies is scheduled for October 27, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET in Denver and Salt Lake City. Registration details are available on the SEC's meetings and events page.
