The Securities and Exchange Commission, also referred to as the SEC, was created back in 1934 by section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It was created to regulate the securities industry, protect investors from fraud, as well as to enforce federal securities laws. Some of the federal securities laws that are enforced by the SEC include: the Securities Act of 1933, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires public companies in the United States to periodically file a variety of financial reports with the SEC. In addition to filing these reports with the SEC public companies must also make these financial reports available to the public. Investors can then use these financial reports to determine the soundness of potential investments in the company. Some of the most common SEC filing types include: F-1, 4, S-1, POS AM, 13D, 144, 20-F, ARS, 6-K, 10-Q, 10-K and 8-K. These reports cover proposed sales of securities, transfers of ownership and management, quarterly reports and annual reports.

If you are interested in learning more about the SEC and the laws that it enforces then you should read through the following United States Securities Laws: the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970. These acts can be requested from the SEC or from the federal government printing office in Washington, D.C.