Securities and Exchange or Securities and Exchange Commission refers to the governing bodies setting different rules and regulations to control the Financial Market. Different Securities and Exchange Commissions (SECs) in different countries have their own and different sets of rules and regulations altogether.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission was incorporated in 1934. It is a United States Government Agency chiefly responsible for implementing the Federal Security Laws and controlling the stock market or the securities market. The SEC was established according to Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It was created following the depression resulting from the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929. The principal objective of SEC's establishment was to control the Stock Market and to foreclose corporate abuse related to buying and selling of securities and corporate reporting. The SEC has the authority to control and license stock exchanges. The SEC keeps an online database which is called EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System). This is used to provide all the legal information to the investors.
In the United States, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers the following facilities to the investors:
It provides protection to investors
It focuses on maintenance of market integrity through efficient, orderly, and fair markets
It facilitates formation of capital
The laws enforced by the SEC include the following:
The Securities Act of 1933
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935
The Trust Indenture Act of 1939
The Investment Company Act of 1940
The Investment Adviser's Act of 1940
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
The divisions of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are:
Division of Corporation Finance
Division of Market Regulation
Division of Investment Management
Division of Enforcement
The Securities and Exchange Commission now has five commissioners who have been appointed by the President of the United States with the proposal and permission of the Senate. The SEC has 18 offices and four divisions. The number of employees working in the SEC is approximately 3,100. The headquarter of the SEC is located in Washington DC. Currently, Christopher Cox is the chairman of SEC.