With the recent approval of financial regulatory reform legislation in the United States, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro provided an outline of next steps in a speech last week to the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness in Washington D.C. Specifically, Ms. Schapiro discussed five topics that new rules will need to address, namely, (i) oversight of OTC derivatives and the need for joint rulemaking between the CFTC and SEC; (ii) fiduciary duty in respect of existing standards of care applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisors; (iii) registration requirements for hedge funds, (iv) expanded corporate disclosure, including upcoming rules that will set new standards of independence for compensation committees; and (v) credit rating agencies. According to Ms. Schapiro, the next year will a busy one for the SEC and CFTC as a number of new proposals are introduced.