Skip to main content

How SEC regulates stock market?



Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is independent U.S federal agency that regulates the stock market. It was created in 1934 by Congress to help restore investor confidence after the 1929 stock market crash. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 was created by Securities and Exchange Commission. It govern securities transaction on the secondary market relying on Securities Act of 1933 which increased transparency in financial  statements and  established  laws against fraudulent activities. In essence SEC provides transparency by ensuring accurate and consistent information about companies that allows investors to make informed and sound decisions. Without transparency stock market would be vulnerable to market speculation and creation of asset bubbles. 

Securities and Exchange Commission has five commissioners and five different divisions:

Division of corporate finance - review corporate filing requirements ensuring that investors have complete and accurate information on company's financial health that will help them make the best decision.

Division of investment management - regulates investment companies, variable insurance products and federally registered investment advisers. It also oversees The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) that insures investment accounts in case that brokerage firm goes bankrupt.

Division of Enforcement - enforces SEC regulations by investigating and prosecuting violations of securities laws and regulations.

Division of Trading and Market - establishes and maintains standards that regulate the stock market. It oversees securities firms and exchanges as well as industry's self regulatory organizations.

Division of Economic and Risk Analysis - economic data and risk analysis to other division in order to integrate them in the core mission of SEC. This division predicts how proposed rules would affect market.

United States stock market is one of the most regulated markets in the world with high level of transparency which attracts many business to the United States. SEC's monitoring of exchanges and all organizations connected with selling of securities has a big role in creating such highly regulated market. It is fairly easy to take your company public in the U.S which helps companies grow larger at a faster rate. By conducting research in financial literacy SEC found out that average investor doesn't poses enough knowledge about the way market and economy function. That is the reason why SEC is so protective of ordinary, non-accredited investors through its regulations. It makes safe for average investor to buy stocks, bonds or mutual funds by regulating sale of those securities and providing investors with information that will help them make investing decisions.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

OTC stocks more difficult to trade and deposit

  Mina Mar Group helps micro-cap companies structure their growth. Micro-capitalized companies are those with less than $50,000,000 in equity, sometimes under $1,000,000. Restructuring involves raising money (both debt and stock), and planning how they will eventually harvest that wealth. If you’re a founder or investor, the secret to harvesting your equity is to possess assets with a developed market for their sale; up until recently, that market was the public market. Now, Over-The-Counter Securities (“OTC Securities”) don’t serve that purpose since, unless you’re a tech unicorn doing an IPO, there are essentially no ways to sell the shares you’ve invested in. OTC securities – how they were deposited five years ago. Brokerages all around the country have tightened compliance over the past five years to the point where no one may deposit share certificates into their brokerage accounts, even if they can prove that they paid for them. Consider the following demand from a secondary ...

S1 Registration

A Form S1 represents the opening registration that a US firm must submit with the SEC prior to an Initial Public Offering. The Securities Act requires a registration statement, otherwise known as Securities and Exchange Commission Form S1, previous to security can be issued on a public exchange such as the NASDAQ, NYSE, or other exchanges. Foreign corporations can register with the SEC, but they must do so using the SEC Form F1. Corporations must fill out Form S1 to outline their intended use of capital proceeds, a description of their current business strategy and competition, and a brief prospectus for the new security, including offering pricing mechanism and any other dilution to other listed stocks.  The SEC also mandates that any material business conducted between the corporations and its directors and external counsel be disclosed. Investors can access S1 filings online in order to do due diligence on new offers before they go public.  As a result, businesses can use t...

How important marketing is for Regulation A?

  Regulation A+ represents the lately enacted SEC rule that amends and expands the rarely utilized Regulation A offering exemption. Regulation A+ might be viewed as an alternative to a small registered IPO and also, as a substitute or addition to other securities offering procedures that are not subject to registration under the Securities Act.  Although Regulation A+ is still quite new, it is swiftly establishing a name as the perfect spot for so many American businesses looking for capital. Reg A+, which is supported by the SEC, actually permits non-SEC reporting corporations to raise capital from public investors while also allowing (or even more motivating) the issuer to publicize their offering openly.  The opportunity to publicly market to investors has benefited greatly for numerous corporations.  This method is intended to reduce regulatory constraints by allowing companies who wouldn’t have contemplated pursuing total IPOs to get the type of financing necess...