Securities Exchange Commission SEC

The SEC is an acronym for Securities Exchange Commission but is correctly named "The United States Securities and Exchange Commission." It is a United States government agency which has the primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry/stock market.

The SEC was created by section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In addition to the 1934 Act that created it, the SEC enforces the Securities Act of 1933, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other statutes.

It holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States.

Mary L. Schapiro is the current Chairperson of the SEC. Her 5-year-term will run from January 27, 2009 to 2014.