The SEC’s National Examination Program (NEA) of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) announced that its examination priorities in 2017 will focus on three general areas: retail investors, risks specific to elderly investors and retirement investing, and assessing market-wide risks.

PROTECTING RETAIL INVESTORS -

Robo-advisers. For the first time, OCIE will focus on so-called “robo-advisers” that provide automated online investment advice. In particular, OCIE will examine compliance practices for overseeing the advisers’ algorithms that generate investment recommendations.