Robert E. Plaze, deputy director of the SEC's Division of Investment Management, will retire at the end of this month, confirmed spokeswoman Judith Burns.
Mr. Plaze worked for the SEC for nearly 30 years and was named deputy director in July 2011. He helped craft rules governing investment advisers, investment companies and private fund advisers, according to an SEC news release. He was most recently responsible for rulemaking for money market mutual funds and to implement a Dodd-Frank requirement for hedge funds and other private fund advisers to register with the SEC.
“Few people have had as great an impact shaping the regulatory landscape for the benefit of individual investors,” said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro in the release. “Bob's keen intellect and passion for investor protection have been central to virtually every significant rule affecting mutual funds and investment advisers for more than a generation.”
Since joining the SEC in 1983, Mr. Plaze has served as an attorney in the Division of Investment Management, special counsel, assistant director and associate director for regulatory policy. He is a past recipient of the SEC's Distinguished Service Award and twice received the Law and Policy Award.
The SEC will search for a replacement.