Which U.S. legislation created the Securities and Exchange Commission after the 1929 crash?

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 created the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the 1929 crash.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the act in 1934 as part of the New Deal response to the financial breakdown of the early 1930s. The law established the SEC as an independent federal agency and gave it authority over securities markets and securities exchanges.

The act addressed concerns about manipulation, misleading information, insider trading, and weak oversight. It also required periodic reporting by many publicly traded companies, helping investors receive standardized corporate information.

The Securities Act of 1933 is a frequent mix-up. That earlier law focused primarily on new securities offerings, while the 1934 act focused on secondary trading markets and created the SEC. Together, they formed the foundation of modern U.S. securities regulation.