Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The US federal regulator of securities markets, issuers, broker-dealers, investment advisers and exchanges.
Overview
Created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the SEC protects investors, maintains fair and orderly markets and facilitates capital formation. It writes rules, registers market participants, reviews disclosures, examines firms and brings civil enforcement actions.
Its powers include writing binding rules, supervising and examining the organisations it oversees, granting and withdrawing licences or registrations, investigating and imposing penalties and restricting activities or withdrawing permissions.
In the United States it works at federal level, alongside CFTC.
Check the official sources below for legal scope, applicable dates and exceptions. This entry is an explanatory reference, not legal advice.
Why it matters
It can both set the rules and punish breaches of them, so its priorities shape compliance risk directly.
Who it affects
Organisations in capital markets and asset management in the United States.
Where it sits
Ten linked steps connect where you operate to the proof that you complied.
- 01Jurisdiction
- 02Industry
- 03Activity
- 04Authority
- 05Regulation
- 06Requirement
- 07Guidance
- 08Control
- 09Evidence
- 10Enforcement
Connections
The terms most closely tied to SEC. Select one to open it.
What to do about it
- 1Confirm whether SEC has power over you, and through which licence, registration, membership or activity.
- 2Follow its rules, guidance and enforcement publications as they are issued.
- 3Map each obligation it creates to a control with a named owner.
- 4Keep examination-ready evidence for its highest-risk obligations.
From requirement to evidence.
Regulation Layer tracks its publications in the change feed, maps its obligations to your controls, and links its enforcement actions to the obligations they cite.
Request early access →