SEC Chairman to Retire; Levitt Has Been Agency's Longest-Serving Chief
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. announced yesterday that he will step down by mid-February, ending the longest chairmanship in the agency's history.</br></br>Levitt, 69, has overseen the nation's securities markets during a period of remarkable change since President Clinton appointed him in 1993.</br></br>He told reporters that he had met with vice president-elect Dick Cheney at transition headquarters in McLean to tell him of his plans and that an acting chairman might be named before the new administration selects his replacement.</br></br>Levitt could have remained a member of the commission until June 2003. He said he has not decided what he will do next.</br></br>Observers and members of the securities world yesterday described Levitt much as he describes himself: as an advocate for the investor.