SEC Chief Mary Schapiro: The Watchdog's New Teeth

As the dimensions of the financial crisis grew ever larger, the effectiveness of the Securities & Exchange Commission grew ever more dubious. Then came the Bernie Madoff scandal. And if you believe an investment manager named Harry Markopoulos, who repeatedly denounced the Madoff operation as a Ponzi scheme to a couldn't-be-bothered SEC, the agency wasn't just asleep at the wheel, it was snoring loudly. All of which is why so many eyes are on new SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, who in January was appointed by President Obama to clean up the mess former Chairman Christopher Cox left behind. As a financial regulator under three Presidents—including six years as an SEC commissioner—Schapiro is no stranger to the agency or the industry. In fact, she later served as head of the NASD and was one of the architects of the industry's self-regulating Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Now, as she deals with issues from executive comp to short-selling, Schapiro will have a hand in determining the shape and direction of the financial industry for years to come.

One of the big questions on Wall Street these days is whether the SEC will get the congressional authority to regulate hedge funds and when. Do you think that will happen and how soon?