Full form of SEC is Securities and Exchange Commission (United States)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent federal government regulatory agency, created by Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (commonly referred to as the Exchange Act or the 1934 Act). The creation of SEC was mainly in response to the stock market crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression. The SEC consists of five 5 divisions and 24 offices and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., U.S.

The SEC has the authority to take civil actions against lawbreakers. Main responsibilities of SEC include: - enforcing the federal securities laws to protecting investor rights, - proposing new securities rules and amendments, and - regulating the U.S. securities industry (stock and options exchanges) to maintain fair and orderly functioning of the markets