Meet ‘SALI,’ SEC’s New Tool for Finding Dirt on Advisers

“SALI” has started talking about investment advisers and other people who were in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC Action Lookup for Individuals unveiled May 2 lets investors check if the investment professional they hired was caught up in a commission case that led to a federal court judgment or an SEC order against the person, according to the agency.

Investors can use the search feature to research registered and unregistered professionals, unlike the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website and other online tools that only help with registered individuals. SALI just needs the first and last ...