Currently， the SEC is responsible for administering seven major laws that govern the securities industry. They are： the Securities Act of 1933， the Securities Exchange Act of 1934， the Trust Indenture Act of 1939， the Investment Company Act of 1940， the Investment Advisers Act of 1940， the Sarbanes-Oxley Actof 2002 and mostrecently， the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006.
The enforcement authority given by Congress allows the SEC to bring civil enforcement actions against individuals or companies alleged to have committed accounting fraud， provided false information， or engaged in insider trading or other violations of the securities law. The SEC also works with criminal law enforcement agencies to prosecute individuals and companies alike for offenses which include a criminal violation.
To achieve its mandate， the SEC enforces the statutory requirement that public companies submit quarterly and annual reports， as well as other periodic reports. In addition to annual financial reports， company executives must provide a narrative account， called the“management discussion and analysis”（ MD&；；A） ， that outlines the previous year of operations and explains how the company fared in that time period. Management will usually also touch on the upcoming year， outlining future goals and approaches to new projects. In an attempt to level the playing field for all investors， the SEC maintains an online database called EDGAR （ the Electronic Data Gathering， Analysis， and Retrieval system） online from which investors can access this and other information filed with the agency.
Quarterly and annual reports from public companies are crucial for investors to make sound decisions when investing in the capital markets. Unlike banking， investment in the capital markets is not guaranteed by the federal government. The potential for big gains needs to be weighed against equally likely losses. Mandatory disclosure of financial and other information about the issuer and the security itself gives private individuals as well as large institutions the same basic facts about the public companies they invest in， thereby increasing public scrutiny while reducing insider trading and fraud.
The SEC makes reports available to the public via the EDGAR system. The SEC also offers publications on investment-related topics for public education. The same online system also takes tips and complaints from investors to help the SEC track down violators of the securities laws. SEC policy is to never comment on the existence or status of an ongoing investigation.
commission /k min/n. 委员会vt.委任；委托制作
quasi-governmental半政府的，半官方的
merger / m d/n.（企业等的）合并；并购；[法律]吸收（如刑法中重罪吸收轻罪）
exert /ig z t/vt.运用，发挥；施以影响
fraud /fr d/n.欺骗；骗子；诡计
derivative /di riv tiv/n.衍生物，派生物adj.引出的；派生的
utility /ju til ti /n.公共设施adj.有多种用途的；通用的；实用的
indenture /in dent/n.合同；契约vt.以契约约束
exempt /ig zempt/vt.免除；豁免adj.被免除的；被豁免的n.免税者；被免除义务者
spur /sp/n.马刺；鼓舞，刺激；山坡vt.激励，鞭策；给装踢马刺
partisan / p ti z n/adj.偏袒的；党派的；盲目推崇的；效忠的
broker / br uk /n.经纪人，掮客vi.作为权力经纪人进行谈判vt.以中间人等身份安排
allege / led /vt.宣称，断言；提出作为理由
prosecute / pr sikju t/vt.从事；检举；依法进行vi.告发；起诉；作检察官
mandate / m ndeit/n.命令，指令；委托管理；授权vt.托管；授权
mandatory / m nd t ri /adj.命令的；强制的；托管的n.受托者
Public Utility Holding Company Act《公用事业控股公司法》
Trust Indenture Act《信托契约法》
Investment Company Act《投资公司法》
Investment Advisers Act《投资顾问法》
Securities Investor Protection Act《证券投资者保护法》
Sarbanes-Oxley Act《萨班斯—奥克斯利法案》
Securities Exchange Act《证券交易法》
FederalCom modi ty Futures Tradi ng Com mi ssi on美国联邦商品期货交易委员会
New York Stock Exchange （NYSE）纽约证券交易所
Nati onalAssoci at i on of Securi ti es Deal ers （NASD）国家证券经纪商协会
Fi nanci alI ndustry Regul atory Authori ty （FI NRA）金融业监管机构
sel f regul atory organi zati ons （SRO s）自我监管组织
Securi ti es and Exchange Com m i ssi on （SEC）证券交易委员会
over- the- counter（OTC） m arket证券等）不通过交易所直接售给顾客的柜台市场
Regulation Fair Disclosure （ Reg FD）《公平披露信息法规》
1. elf-regulatory organization （自我监管组织） ： A self-regulatory organization （ SRO） is an organization that exercises some degree of regulatory authority over an industry or profession. The regulatory authority could be applied in addition to some form of government regulation， or it could fill the vacuum of an absence of government oversight and regulation. The ability of an SRO to exercise regulatory authority does not necessarily derive froma grant of authority from the government.
In United States securities law， a self-regulatory organization is a defined term. The principal federal regulatory authority—the Securities and Exchange Commission（ SEC）—was established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC delegates authority to the National Association of Securities Dealers （ NASD） and to the national stock exchanges （ e.g. the NY SE） to enforce certain industry standards and requirements related to securities trading and brokerage. On July 26， 2007 the SEC approved a merger of theenforcement arms of the NYSE and the NASD， to form a new SRO， the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. In addition， Congress created the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board （ MSRB） as an SRO charged with adopting investor protection rules governing broker-dealers and banks that underwrite trade and sell tax-exempt bonds， 529 college savings plans and other types of municipal securities.
2.inancial Industry Regulatory Authority （金融业监管机构）： In the United States， the inancial Industry Regulatory Authority （ FINRA） is a self-regulatory organization （ SRO） under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934， successor to the National Association of Securities Dealers， Inc. （ NASD） .