The SEC has a three-part mission: to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate … See more

Prior to the enactment of the federal securities laws and the creation of the SEC, securities trading was governed by so-called blue sky laws. These laws were enacted and enforced at the state level and regulated t… See more

The commission has five commissioners who are appointed by the President of the United States. No more than three Commissioners may belong to the same political party. Their terms last five years and are sta… See more

Comment letters are issued by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance in response to a company's public filing. This letter, initially private, contains an itemized list of requests from the SEC. Each comment in the letter a… See more

In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recen… See more

The SEC's Enforcement Division took a number of major actions in 2009–12.
The SEC announced on September 17, 2008, strict new rules to prohibit all forms of "naked short selling" as a measure to reduce vola… See more

The SEC runs a whistleblower rewards program, which rewards individuals who report violations of securities laws to the SEC. The program began in 2011 with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform an… See more