Securities and Exchange Commission Definition

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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – n : the U.S. federal government agency with primary responsibility for overseeing and regulating the securities industry – i.e., the formation, underwriting, selling, buying, trading and optioning of stocks and bonds by corporations, investment banks, brokerages, and commercial banks. The primary mission of the SEC is to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets (both private and public). The SEC also oversees other key participants in the securities world, including stock exchanges, broker-dealers, investment advisors, mutual funds, investment banks, and public utility holding companies. Through its EDGAR online system, the SEC provides free public access to all filings companies make with the SEC (for example, filings required prior to public offerings, as well as 10K annual reports and 10Q quarterly reports); such filings are very useful data sources when conducting comparable companies analysis or valuation analysis. (For more information, visit www.sec.gov. )