S E C
The Securities and Exchange Commission
 |
 |
 |
 |
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) - just like other organizations of its kind around the world - is an extremely important agency to protect the securities markets, and in the end you as the investor against fraud and other malpractices. Without the SEC, fraud and other criminal acts would totally get out of hand and become uncontrolable!
The SEC was established by the [United States Congress] in 1934 as an independent, non-partisan, quasi-judicial regulatory agency. The main reason for the creation of the SEC was to regulate the stock market and prevent corporate abuses relating to the offering and sale of securities and corporate reporting. The SEC was given the power to license and regulate stock exchanges. Currently, SEC is responsible for administering seven major laws that govern the securities industry. They are: Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, Trust Indenture Act of 1939, Investment Company Act of 1940, Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and, most recently, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
The SEC has primary responsibility for enforcing the Federal securities laws, regulating and overseeing the securities industry and regulating the U.S. financial markets. The SEC also promotes full disclosure in order to protect the investing public against malpractices.
The primary mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets. As more and more first-time investors turn to the markets to help secure their futures, pay for homes, and send children to college, these goals are more compelling than ever.
The enforcement authority given by Congress allows the SEC to bring civil enforcement against individuals or companies found to have committed accounting fraud, provided false information, engaged in insider trading or violations of other provisions of thesecurities law. The SEC also works with criminal law enforcement agencies to prosecute individuals and companies alike for severe offenses.
If you wish, you can also visit the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov to find out more about this agency. It's worth it!
Ricky Schmidt
November 5, 2005
|