Vanguard has lifted its new head of its securities law group from the SEC. Arthur "Ari" Gabinet will pack his move down the freeway from his office in the SEC's Philadelphia branch to Vanguard Group in the Malvern Hills suburbs, reported the Philadelphia Inquiror. He will start the new job in November.

At the SEC, Gabinet was involved with the investigations into improper trading allowed by some mutual fund firms. One of the major investigations run by the Philadelphia office led to a suit against Gary Pilgrim and Harold Baxter that ultimately led to their paying an $80 million fine and accepting a ban from the industry.

The Philadelphia office also led the investigation into the practices of fund firm's paying for shelf space with brokerage firms that led to a settlement with Morgan Stanley.

Before joining the SEC in early 2003, Gabinet was a partner at Dechert, a firm known for its work in the fund industry.

Gabinet told the paper that his resignation has nothing to do with the recent appointment of Chris Cox as the SEC's chairman.

"I'd be pleased to work with him," he told the paper. He added, "An opportunity to join an organization like Vanguard is not going to come along every day," Gabinet told the paper.  

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