The SEC district offices are in Atlanta, Boston, Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. The SEC's existing regional offices are in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City.

The regional designation for the district offices will facilitate their cooperation with state and federal regulators, law enforcement agencies and consumer groups at the local level to better protect investors no matter where they live or with whom they invest, the agency said in a statement.

"Our new system also helps eliminate the potential for redundancy and overlap in our inspection and enforcement procedures," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox.

Walter Ricciardi, SEC Enforcement Division Deputy Director, will move to the agency's New York office to oversee the Commission's regional enforcement efforts. The SEC's regional examination program will continue to be overseen by Lori Richards, director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations.

The changes took effect Monday, April 2.