FINANCIAL ADVISOR IQ — The Securities and Exchange Commission says it has appointed an experienced law professor to head the department overseeing regulatory policy for investment advisors and investment companies whose products are aimed primarily at retail investors. William Birdthistle, currently a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, joins the regulator as director of the Division of Investment Management, according to the SEC. Birdthistle takes over from Sarah ten Siethoff, according to SEC chair Gary Gensler. “I’d like to thank Sarah ten Siethoff for serving as acting director of the Division of Investment Management and for serving as a valuable counsel to me in my first eight months as Chair. I look forward to continuing to work with her going forward,” Gensler said in a statement.Birdthistle has been on the faculty at Chicago-Kent College of Law since 2006 and has also served as a visiting professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, according to the SEC. Birdthistle’s research focuses on investment funds, securities regulation and corporate governance, the regulator says. Birdthistle has also served as counsel of record on several amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the SEC.