The SEC will be bringing more cases against financial advisors for misrepresenting investment objectives and undisclosed conflicts of interest, SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney said Tuesday.

The enforcement division is filing more administrative proceedings because the Dodd-Frank Act gave the SEC additional ability to bring these cases, he said.

Ceresney contended administrative actions sufficiently protect the rights of accused violators.

“They’re fair forums,” he said. “We have lost administrative proceedings. The administrative law judges are extremely fair and neutral.”

He defended SEC Chairman Mary Jo White’s “Broken Windows” directive to have the agency go after minor infractions because they could turn into bigger ones.
 
“It is not about turning every violation into an enforcement action,” Ceresney said.

White’s initiative to demand more admissions of guilt by violators has not led to more trials nor consumed more staff time, he said.

Ceresney called 2014 a “banner year” for his unit, noting the section had twice as many trials as it did in 2013 and five times as many jury trials.