The Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) is the SEC unit that provides economic and data-analytic support to the agency. It conducts risk analysis and empirical research, supports rulemaking, examinations, and enforcement with financial economics, and publishes staff papers, datasets, and visualizations to inform the public and SEC policymaking.
DERA published two reports: (1) “The Fast-Growing Market of Active ETFs,” which documents growth trends, assets and product characteristics of active exchange-traded funds; and (2) “When Funds Merge: What Happens to Fees?,” a staff analysis of how mutual fund and ETF mergers affect fees paid by investors (expense ratios, management and 12b‑1 fees) using 2010–2023 merger data.
Full reports and the updated statistics/visualizations are available on the SEC website: the DERA staff-papers/analyses pages and the DERA Data Library, and the SEC newsroom press release links (Feb. 5, 2026).
Municipal advisors provide advice to state and local governments on debt issuance and financial products; transfer agents maintain shareholder records and handle transfers/dividends for registered securities; security‑based swap dealers (SBSDs) act as major counterparties in security‑based swap markets, facilitating trading and market making. All are regulated/registered with specific SEC rules.
The SEC publishes updated statistics to increase transparency, monitor market structure and intermediary risks, and inform policymaking and investor protection. Investors, academics, and regulators use the data to track growth, fee trends, concentration, firm counts and to evaluate systemic or market‑conduct risks.
The publications are analytical and data releases; they document trends and empirical findings but do not by themselves announce new rules, enforcement actions, or formal policy proposals. They can, however, inform SEC staff and the public about issues that may lead to future rulemaking or enforcement.