Mary Schapiro, the new chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is looking at addressing the agency’s limited resources by enlisting more private sector help to uncover fraud.

Ms Schapiro, who took over the beleaguered regulator two months ago, said she was exploring new approaches to enforcement, including ways to “leverage” third parties, particularly in the oversight of investment advisers. There are about 400 SEC staff to examine more than 11,000 investment advisers – up more than 50 per cent since 2001.