Adam S. Aderton

Adam Aderton, a former Co-Chief of the SEC’s Enforcement Asset Management Unit, is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Asset Management Regulatory and Enforcement Practice based in the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office. In addition to providing ongoing practical regulatory advice, Adam focuses on regulatory and enforcement matters, with a particular emphasis on the asset management industry. He conducts internal investigations and advises on complex regulatory examinations, enforcement inquiries, and litigation matters involving private equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds, BDCs, interval funds, tender offer funds, mutual funds and ETFs, as well as retail platforms and separately managed accounts.

A thought leader in the space, Adam regularly speaks on asset management enforcement issues to leading industry groups, including the Investment Adviser Association, the Investment Company Institute and the Institutional Investor Legal Forum, among others. Adam is Co-Chair of the National Society of Compliance Professionals Private Funds Committee, participates in the Investment Company Institute’s Outside Counsel Advisory Group, and is on the Board of Advisors of the SEC Historical Society.

Adam spent more than 14 years at the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, including serving from 2019-2022 as the Co-Chief of the Enforcement Asset Management Unit. In that role, he directed the SEC’s investigative teams responsible for investigations and enforcement matters for asset managers across the country. Adam also led Enforcement’s coordination with the Division of Examinations and advised on significant rulemakings involving the asset management industry. He was named to Securities Docket’s “Enforcement Elite” in 2024 and 2025.