And just like that, another year comes to an end.
While the last weeks of a year are filled with festivities and wrapping up loose ends, a new year brings new opportunities, new products, new budgets and, yes, new regulations.
The SEC released their 2026 Examination Priorities in November, so if you’re on top of all things compliance-related, you’re probably versed in changes from previous years. If you’re dreading trudging through 15 pages of it, though, same.
Below, we’ve highlighted some of the major changes to previous years' Exam priorities. We still think it’s worth reading the entire report, but here’s what stood out to us in 2026’s priorities:
Artificial Intelligence within compliance
An obvious reaction to the high adoption of AI tools across financial industries is the 2026 SEC priority to highlight AI as a huge risk. Rather than wait for AI to create a major failure, the SEC is prioritizing its focus.
The 2026 exam priorities place a stronger and more detailed focus on AI and other emerging technologies than in prior years, particularly around governance, controls, and how automated investment tools are described to clients. Oversight standards haven’t kept pace, raising concerns about how firms describe AI tools, what clients actually understand, and who’s accountable when automation goes wrong.
As we’ve mentioned before, AI can be incredibly useful, which is one of the reasons we employ it at Comma. However, taking the human out of the cycle entirely is not realistic within compliance. Human-first, AI as a tool.
A shift away from Crypto focus
This isn’t a surprise; the post-2022 crypto blowups are no longer breaking news, and much of the crypto industry has either stabilized or moved offshore. While crypto risk hasn’t totally vanished, it’s being consolidated into the existing categories focusing on custody, disclosure, and fraud reviews.
Unlike previous years, the SEC simply doesn’t have a standalone crypto focus, attributed largely to the current SEC leadership. This makes sense; it would be like suddenly focusing on the email compliance thirty years after it became a mainstream communication. The rules and regulations still exist, but not as a sole focus.
Increased scrutiny of conflicts of interest
Another notable shift is the SEC’s focus on conflicts of interest. While conflicts have always been a concern, the 2026 priorities go deeper into how they arise, particularly as firms expand services, merge, or introduce new compensation structures.
With tighter margins pushing firms toward new revenue sources, proprietary products, adn third-party partnerships, the SEC wants to ensure incentives are transparent and aligned with investors’ best interests, particularly retail clients. This is echoed in the next priority as well.
Greater attention on complex & alternative products
Do your investors understand complex and intricate structured products? The SEC isn’t so sure.
It’s a no-brainer that as markets evolve, so do products marketed and offered to investors. This year, the SEC wants to increase scrutiny of complex and alt investment products, especially those with intricate structures. Ultimately, selling complexity to the wrong investors is the risk, because in years past these complex products were offered to institutional investors, but now they’re becoming more broadly accessible.
The SEC wants to ensure firms recommending these investments fully understand them and that investors understand what they’re getting into.
From cybersecurity policies to incident readiness
The emphasis on cybersecurity is shifting to ensure that breaches are not treated as hypothetical. Incident response and preparedness are being evaluated, because any firm can have policies on paper, but if the policies aren’t backed up when an actual breach occurs, those policies are useless.
Marketing claims and the “Names Rule”
With increased attention on transparency, the SEC is also highlighting compliance with the amended Investment Company Names Rule. Product names, marketing language, and disclosures are expected to accurately reflect investment strategies.
This aligns with broader political and regulatory sensitivity around misleading labels, whether related to ESG, income strategies, or new technology-driven products.
Exams triggered by change, Not just time
An interesting change is that the SEC is refining its selection process for firms to examine. Beyond first-time or newly registered advisers, there’s a clear focus on firms undergoing meaningful change: new products, new technology, or new lines of business.
Growth and innovation aren’t discouraged (although sometimes the regulations can make it feel like they are) but they do tend to attract attention.
As your business changes, your compliance program should keep up - something Comma fully agrees with.
Focus on a Cooperative Tone
The largest shift from previous years is the SEC's cooperative tone and transparency. Instead of a “gotcha” moment, exams will be more practical, a reminder that the SEC is focused on helping, not harming.
If you’re curious how we can help reduce the gotcha moments and ensure your compliance strategies evolve with changing tech - book a demo with us today.
And, Happy 2026!
