The SEC confirmed that it will create a temporary, internal, cross-divisional COVID-19 Market Monitoring Group. Dalia Blass, director of the SEC's division of investment management, and Timothy Husson, associate director and head of analytics office for the division, have been chosen to take part in the SEC's Cross-Divisional COVID-19 Market Monitoring Group.

Dalia Osman Blass U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Director of the Division of Investment Management

"For the past several months, the women and men of the SEC have worked across divisions and offices to assess and respond to the effects of COVID-19 on our capital markets and our investors. The COVID-19 Market Monitoring Group will help us continue and expand upon this interdisciplinary work," Jay Clayton, chairman of the SEC, stated.

Blass was appointed to the position of director in 2017. She has worked in different positions within the division of investment management for more than six years, having left only for a year, in 2016, to serve as Counsel for Ropes & Gray LLP.

Husson has held several positions within the division of investment management since 2014. Prior to joining the SEC, he was a senior financial economist for Securities Litigation and Consulting Group.

The senior-level members of the cross-divisional COVID-18 Market Monitoring Group will assist the SEC in two ways. The first is in the Commission's and its staff's actions and analysis regarding markets, issuers and investors, and second is in the response of requests by other regulators and public sector partners for information, analysis, and assistant requests regarding coronavirus. The group will also aid the SEC support COVID-19-related efforts of federal financial agencies.

The cross-divisional group will feature personnel from various areas of the agency, including the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA), Division of Trading and Markets, Division of Investment Management, Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), Office of the Chief Accountant, and the SEC’s Activities-Based Monitoring Committee.

"At the SEC, our monitoring of, and responses to, the effects of COVID-19 on our capital markets often must take into account complexities, interconnections and continually evolving dynamics of our markets. This work benefits from the input of multiple SEC divisions and offices," said Clayton.

The chair of the Market Monitoring Group is S.P. Kothari,, the SEC's chief economist and the director of DERA.

Kothari stated, "The importance of understanding what is happening in the markets is greater than ever. Collaboration both within the SEC and with our regulator colleagues is vital to this effort. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to provide advice and analysis that benefits from their diverse and pragmatic experience."

Blass earned her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. and her B.A. in international studies from American University. She studied political science and government at American University in Cairo.

Husson is a certified financial risk manager. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from the University of Chicago. 

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