This year, the SEC said its examination priorities will cover a wide range of issues at financial institutions.

Among them, increased oversight of investment advisers and investment companies, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, exchanges and other self-regulatory organizations, hedge funds, private equity funds, and transfer agents.

“We are publishing these priorities to highlight areas that we perceive to have heightened risk,” said Andrew Bowden, director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations.

The examination priorities address market-wide issues and those specific to particular business models and organizations, the SEC said.

The market-wide priorities include fraud detection and prevention, corporate governance and enterprise risk management, technology controls, issues posed by the convergence of broker-dealer and investment adviser businesses and by new rules and regulations, and retirement investments and rollovers, according to the agency.

The SEC said the priorities listed for 2014 were selected by senior exam staff and managers and other SEC divisions and offices in consultation with the chair and other commissioners based on a variety of information and risk analytics, including tips, complaints and referrals, including from whistleblowers and investors and information reported by registrants in required filings with the SEC.