U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

government agency overseeing stock exchanges

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government. The SEC was created during the aftermath of "Black Tuesday". Its purpose is to protect investors and enforce laws regarding the stock market.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of Corruption
Seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
US Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Agency overview
FormedJune 6, 1934; 90 years ago (1934-06-06)
JurisdictionUnited States federal government
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Employees4,301 (2015)[1]
Agency executive
Websitewww.sec.gov

Purpose

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The SEC holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws, proposing securities rules, and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other activities and organizations, including the electronic securities markets in the United States.[2]

In addition to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which 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. The SEC was created by Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (now codified as 15 U.S.C. § 78d and commonly referred to as the Exchange Act or the 1934 Act).

Chairs

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Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. was the first Chair of the SEC. Later SEC commissioners and chairmen include William O. Douglas, Jerome Frank (one of the leaders of the legal realism movement), and William J. Casey (who later headed the Central Intelligence Agency under President Ronald Reagan).

The current chair is Gary Gensler serving since 2021 after being nominated by President Joe Biden.

No. Portrait Name State of residency Term of office Appointed by
Term start Term end Time in office
1   Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Massachusetts June 30, 1934 September 23, 1935 1 year, 85 days Roosevelt
2   James M. Landis Massachusetts September 23, 1935 September 15, 1937 1 year, 357 days Roosevelt
3   William O. Douglas Connecticut August 17, 1937 April 15, 1939 1 year, 241 days Roosevelt
4   Jerome Frank Illinois May 18, 1939 April 9, 1941 1 year, 326 days Roosevelt
5   Edward C. Eicher Iowa April 9, 1941 January 20, 1942 286 days Roosevelt
6   Ganson Purcell January 20, 1942 June 30, 1946 4 years, 161 days Roosevelt
7 James J. Caffrey July 23, 1946 December 31, 1947 1 year, 161 days Truman
8 Edmond M. Hanrahan New York May 18, 1948 November 3, 1949 1 year, 169 days Truman
9 Harry A. McDonald November 4, 1949 February 25, 1952 2 years, 113 days Truman
10 Donald C. Cook Michigan February 26, 1952 June 17, 1953 1 year, 111 days Truman
11 Ralph H. Demmler Pennsylvania June 27, 1953 May 25, 1955 1 year, 332 days Eisenhower
12 J. Sinclair Armstrong New York May 25, 1955 June 27, 1957 2 years, 33 days Eisenhower
13 Edward N. Gadsby Massachusetts August 20, 1957 March 26, 1961 3 years, 218 days Eisenhower
14 William L. Cary March 27, 1961 August 20, 1964 3 years, 146 days Kennedy
15 Manuel F. Cohen August 20, 1964 February 22, 1969 4 years, 186 days Johnson
16   Hamer H. Budge Idaho February 22, 1969 January 2, 1971 1 year, 314 days Nixon
17   William J. Casey New York April 14, 1971 February 2, 1973 1 year, 294 days Nixon
18 G. Bradford Cook Nebraska March 3, 1973 May 16, 1973 74 days Nixon
19 Ray Garrett Jr. Illinois August 6, 1973 October 28, 1975 2 years, 83 days Nixon
20 Roderick M. Hills California October 28, 1975 April 10, 1977 1 year, 164 days Ford
21 Harold M. Williams California April 18, 1977 March 1, 1981 3 years, 317 days Carter
22 John S. R. Shad May 6, 1981 June 18, 1987 6 years, 43 days Reagan
23 David Sturtevant Ruder Illinois August 7, 1987 September 30, 1989 2 years, 54 days Reagan
24 Richard C. Breeden New York October 11, 1989 May 7, 1993 3 years, 208 days Bush Sr.
  Mary Schapiro (acting) New York May 7, 1993 July 27, 1993 81 days Clinton
25   Arthur Levitt New York July 27, 1993 February 9, 2001 7 years, 227 days Clinton
26 Harvey Pitt New York August 3, 2001 February 18, 2003 1 year, 199 days Bush Jr.
27   William H. Donaldson New York February 18, 2003 June 30, 2005 2 years, 132 days Bush Jr.
28   Christopher Cox California August 3, 2005 January 20, 2009 3 years, 170 days Bush Jr.
29   Mary Schapiro New York January 27, 2009 December 14, 2012 3 years, 322 days Obama
30   Elisse B. Walter New York December 14, 2012 April 10, 2013 117 days Obama
31   Mary Jo White New York April 10, 2013 January 20, 2017 3 years, 285 days Obama
  Michael Piwowar (acting) Washington D.C. January 20, 2017 May 4, 2017 104 days Trump
32   Jay Clayton Pennsylvania May 4, 2017 December 23, 2020 3 years, 233 days Trump
  Elad Roisman (acting) Washington D.C. December 24, 2020 January 20, 2021 27 days Trump
  Allison Lee (acting) Washington D.C. January 20, 2021 April 17, 2021 87 days Biden
33   Gary Gensler Maryland April 17, 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 232 days Biden
Nominee   Paul S. Atkins North Carolina TBD Trump

References

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  1. FY 2017 Congressional Budget Justification (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2016. p. 14.
  2. SEC (June 10, 2013). "What We Do". SEC.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 2017-03-24.

Other websites

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