SEC’s Enforcement Chief Avakian to Leave Agency This Month

The top cop at Wall Street’s main regulator will step down this month, joining an exodus of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials who are leaving as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to install new leadership at the agency.

SEC Enforcement Director Stephanie Avakian is departing after serving in the role for roughly four years with co-head Steven Peikin, who left the regulator in August. Marc P. Berger, the enforcement unit’s deputy director and previous head of the SEC’s New York regional office, will serve as acting chief, the agency said in a Thursday statement.

Stephanie Avakian

Photographer: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

Avakian’s work “has ...