U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

After the stock market crash of October 1929, Congress held hearings on the securities markets and, in the peak year of the Depression, passed the Securities Act of 1933. Enacted on May 27, 1933, it was the first general federal law regulating the issuance of securities, requiring companies that sell securities to the public to “tell the truth about their business.”⁠[1][2]

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, enacted on June 6, 1934, created the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the purposes of the two laws, those who sell and trade securities “must treat investors fairly and honestly.”⁠[2][1]

Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) was an American politician who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945, the only president elected four times; he led the country through the Great Depression and World War II and greatly expanded the federal government’s role through the New Deal.Open the full entry appointed the first Commission and named Joseph P. KennedyJoseph P. KennedyJoseph P. Kennedy (1888–1969) was an American businessman and diplomat who served as the first chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 1934 to 1935, chairman of the United States Maritime Commission from 1937 to 1938 and U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1940.Open the full entry its first chairman. The five original commissioners served from July 2, 1934: the Democrats Joseph P. Kennedy, James M. Landis and Ferdinand Pecora and the Republicans George C. Mathews and Robert E. Healy. Kennedy was chairman until September 23, 1935, when Landis succeeded him.⁠[2][3]

The Public Utility Holding Company Act was enacted on August 26, 1935.⁠[2]

William O. Douglas became chairman on September 21, 1937, and served until April 16, 1939. In 1939 he was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court of the U.S. federal judiciary. Established under the Constitution and the Judiciary Act of 1789, it has consisted since 1869 of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices and sits in Washington, D.C.Open the full entry, where he became the longest-serving Associate Justice to date before retiring in 1975.⁠[3][2]

The Maloney Act, enacted on June 25, 1938, provided for a national association of brokers and dealers; the Trust Indenture Act was enacted on August 3, 1939, and on August 7, 1939, the National Association of Securities Dealers registered as a self-regulatory organization. Earlier, on April 22, 1938, the Commission had adopted Regulation A.⁠[2][4]

The Investment Company Act was enacted on August 22, 1940, in the same entry as the Investment Advisers Act. In January 1940 the Commission had required broker-dealers to keep systematic transaction records available to its regional offices.⁠[4]

In 1942 the Commission moved to Philadelphia as a non-essential agency, returning to Washington, D.C., in 1948. On May 21, 1942, it adopted Rule 10b-5.⁠[4]

U.S. markets closed after the attacks of September 11, 2001; the Commission’s New York Regional Office was then located at 7 World Trade Center. Debt markets reopened on September 13 and equity and options markets on September 17.⁠[5]

In November 2001 Enron announced that it would restate its earnings for 1997–2000. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted on July 30, 2002; the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) under the act was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2010.⁠[5]

In March 2008 the Federal Reserve SystemFederal Reserve SystemThe Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States. Created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, it consists of the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).Open the full entry intervened in the collapse of Bear, Stearns & Co., and in September 2008 a worldwide financial crisis began. In December 2008 Bernard Madoff confessed to running a Ponzi scheme. On August 11, 2009, the Commission delegated formal order authority, and with it subpoena power, to its Regional Directors.⁠[5]

The “Flash Crash” struck U.S. stock markets on May 6, 2010. In July 2010 the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted, establishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Financial Stability Oversight Council.⁠[6]

Donald Trump nominated Paul Atkins on January 20, 2025, the Senate confirmed him on April 9, and he was sworn in as the 34th Chairman on April 21, 2025. Atkins had served as a commissioner from August 2002 to August 2008, appointed by George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge W. Bush (born 1946) is an American politician and Republican who worked in the energy business and was a part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team before becoming the 46th governor of Texas in 1995 and serving as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009.Open the full entry; he holds an A.B. from Wofford College (1980) and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law (1983).⁠[7][8]

As of November 2026, the Commission’s website (updated September 14, 2026) lists three members: Chairman Paul S. Atkins (chairman since 2025, term expiring 2031), Commissioner Hester M. PeirceHester PeirceHester Peirce is a lawyer and financial regulator who served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from January 2018 to October 2026 and was appointed in January 2025 to lead the agency’s Crypto Task Force. She long advocated clear rules for crypto assets, opposed regulation by enforcement, and proposed a token “safe harbor.”Open the full entry (commissioner since 2018, term expired 2025) and Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda (commissioner since 2022, term expiring 2028).⁠[9]

The Commission states that it oversees more than $100 trillion in annual securities trading on U.S. equity markets and monitors more than 28,000 entities in the securities industry.⁠[10]

The five commissioners are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate to staggered five-year terms, one term ending on June 5 of each year; a commissioner whose term has expired may serve up to about 18 months longer if not replaced. To keep the Commission nonpartisan, no more than three commissioners may belong to the same political party. The President designates one commissioner as Chairman, the agency’s top executive.⁠[9]

The chairmen have been, in order, Joseph P. Kennedy, James M. Landis, William O. Douglas, Jerome N. Frank, Edward C. Eicher, Ganson Purcell, James J. Caffrey (from 1946), Edmond M. Hanrahan, Harry A. McDonald, Donald C. Cook, Ralph H. Demmler, J. Sinclair Armstrong, Edward N. Gadsby, William L. Cary, Manuel F. Cohen, Hamer H. Budge, William J. Casey, G. Bradford Cook, Ray Garrett, Jr., Roderick M. Hills, Harold M. Williams, John Shad, David S. Ruder, Richard C. Breeden, Arthur Levitt (1993–2001), Harvey L. Pitt, William H. Donaldson, Christopher Cox (2005–2009), Mary L. Schapiro (2009–2012), Elisse B. Walter, Mary Jo White (2013–2017), Jay ClaytonJay ClaytonJay Clayton (Walter Joseph Clayton III) is an American lawyer and government official who has served as U.S. Director of National Intelligence since August 2026 and, from October of that year, also as the White House’s head of artificial intelligence affairs (“AI czar”). He practiced at Sullivan & Cromwell for more than two decades, chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020 and was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2025 to 2026.Open the full entry (2017–2020), Gary Gensler (April 19, 2021–January 20, 2025) and Paul Atkins.⁠[3][4]

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Official website: https://www.sec.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[10]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SECViews/videos (opens in a new window).⁠[10]