(SEC) question ~ Securities and Exchange?

Question

What is the roll of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)?

Answer 1

Changing daily with all the FED regulations etc. but past roll of the SEC is to monitor and enforce the standards of the public exchanges including filings, information accuacy and timing, etc.

Answer 2

The SEC touts as its mission statement, “…to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.” That’s good because many of us need all the help we can get.

As a part of the SEC’s mission the belief is that in order to sustain and advance economic growth, capital formation must thrive. The SEC’s actions protect the value of savings and advocate a growing economy. It is that growing economy that should improve our standard of living and should spur the creation of new jobs. The SEC offers investor protection that is especially needed by first-time investors planning for such things as home mortgages and college funds.

Because of the complexities in the investment world, it is important that all investors do research and question what they do not understand. There are no guarantees when it comes to stocks, bonds and other securities that can go down in value. If a person wants security, one option is to just stick with the banking world where deposits are guaranteed by the federal government.

One of the main functions of the SEC is that it requires public companies to disclose information to the public. The securities industry is governed by laws that follow a very simple concept - all investors should have access to certain basic facts prior to investing. The premise is that investors can only make sound decisions if they have timely, comprehensive and accurate information to help them judge whether to buy, sell, or hold.

Because the formation of capital is so important to the nation’s economy, the SEC works with major market participants and investors to address their concerns. The SEC is concerned about promoting disclosure of information, protection against fraud, and fair dealing. To that end it oversees the securities exchanges, brokers, dealers, mutual funds, and investment advisors. Every year hundreds of civil actions are taken against companies and individuals by the SEC for violation of the securities laws. The most common infractions are insider trading, accounting fraud, and false information about securities.