The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened its doors in 1934. Congress created the SEC during the Great Depression through the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, after the 1929 stock-market crash exposed widespread abuses and weak federal oversight.
The agency’s first chairman was Joseph P. Kennedy, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The SEC was given authority to regulate securities markets, require important financial disclosures from public companies, oversee exchanges and brokers, and enforce federal securities laws.
A common mix-up is confusing the SEC’s founding year with the dates of the laws that preceded it. The Securities Act of 1933 governed new securities offerings, while the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 created the SEC and addressed trading markets. The commission therefore belongs to 1934, not 1933, 1935, or 1936.
The SEC’s creation marked a major shift toward federally supervised markets. Its core mission remains protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly markets, and facilitating capital formation.