On November 17, 2025, the SEC's Division of Examinations announced its fiscal year 2026 examination priorities, identifying the areas where examiners will focus during the 2026 exam cycle.
## Key Focus Areas
The priorities emphasize investment adviser fiduciary duty and standards of conduct, conflicts of interest, the Compliance Rule (Rule 206(4)-7), anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, Regulation S-P and Regulation S-ID (privacy and identity theft), emerging financial technology including AI-related representations, and Regulation SCI.
The Division continues to emphasize protecting retail investors, examining newly registered and never-before-examined advisers and funds, and broker-dealer compliance with Regulation Best Interest.
## A Shift in Emphasis
Notably, the 2026 priorities drop crypto assets and private fund advisers as standalone priority headings — a shift from prior years. These were the first examination priorities issued under the SEC's current leadership.
Firms should review their compliance programs against the published priorities — particularly conflicts of interest, the Compliance Rule, cybersecurity, and AI-related claims — and address any gaps ahead of their examination cycle.