The Securities and Exchange Commission was created during the Great Depression to restore public trust in financial markets after the 1929 crash.

Watch former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler's 'Eras Tour' for the agency's 90th anniversary, a look back on the pivotal moments in the agency's history.

Prior to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the 1913 Pujo Committee determined that 180 people were managing more than $22B of the entire nation's wealth and recommended extensive regulations.

Read a breakdown of the different financial and banking regulatory bodies in the US, including the SEC.

Passed in 2010 in the fallout of the Great Recession, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was the most significant financial reform since the Great Depression.

Known as the 'Pecora Hearings,' the widely covered trials following the stock market crash of 1929 generated massive public outrage that forced Congress to impose stricter regulations on Wall Street.

After Bernie Madoff's nearly $65B Ponzi scheme was exposed, the Securities and Exchange Commission was widely criticized for being inattentive and overly lax for not having caught the fraud earlier.

The Social Security System was created to protect Americans from economic disasters like the Great Depression

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal created new government agencies and programs in the wake of the Great Depression.

The Dodd-Frank Act increased banks' capital requirements and established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Explore EDGAR: the Securities and Exchange Commission's free, public database with information and filings from public companies.

When the New York Stock Exchange was started in 1792, traders would meet both outside on the street and in coffee shops to do business.

The story of the Wall Street Crash of 1929

The 1920s in the US "roared" with rapid economic growth after the conclusion of World War I. But in October 1929, the bubbly stock markets crashed dramatically, plunging the nation into the decadelong Great Depression.

Joseph Kennedy Sr., President John F. Kennedy's father, became the first chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission in 1934.

The Social Security Act was formed to protect retired workers amid the Great Depression

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal created new government agencies and programs in the wake of the Great Depression, including the Social Security Act.

In the SEC vs. Jarkesy ruling of 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to seek civil penalties for securities fraud in-house, which significantly scaled back the agency's enforcement capabilities.

Learn about the essential Securities and Exchange Commission filing types, including S-1, 10K, 10Q, and 8-K.

Watch a breakdown of 'The Volcker Rule,' which stopped banks from being able to make trades with client money and is one of the most controversial financial regulations to date.

Commodity trading is regulated by the CFTC to mitigate fraud and risk

Established in 1974, the CFTC regulates these markets (including swaps, futures, and certain types of options) to protect market participants from fraud, ensure fair trading conditions, and generally reduce financial risk.

Markets have always recovered and hit new highs following crashes

The crash that preceded the Great Depression was the most severe the US has ever experienced. It was 28 times worse than the downturn that followed the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Read a profile of Ferdinand Pecora, the lawyer behind the colorful, extensive investigations into the stock market crash of 1929.

An S-1 reveals financial and other details to the public, often for the first time, when filing for an IPO

To file for an IPO, a company must file a registration form called an S-1 or prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. S-1s detail a company's current business model, competitive landscape, and other financial information.

The IMF was created to prevent the currency crises that destabilized the 1930s global economy

Founded in 1945, the IMF monitors exchange rates, promotes financial stability, and provides emergency funding to countries that cannot pay for their imports. It currently has 191 member countries and acts as a lender of last resort for struggling economies.

The Depression-era Social Security program assigned every US citizen an account number

Many of the Social Security functions we know today are the result of multiple amendments to the Social Security Act that have been passed in the years since the act’s initial creation in 1935. As Social Security as we know it today was being conceptualized, Democrats opted to make it an insurance program rather than a welfare one to assuage Republicans.

The National Housing Act established the Federal Housing Administration

During the Great Depression, 1,000 homes were foreclosed on per day, and half of the mortgages across the country defaulted. To address this crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Housing Act. It established the Federal Housing Administration, which is still around today and helps protect lenders and buyers.

To avoid a total collapse of the housing market, the US government took control of the two leading mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Glass-Steagall Act separated commercial banks in the US from investment banks

In 1933, the Glass-Steagall Act legally separated commercial banks in the US from investment banks. However, by 1999, the act was repealed—meaning that today’s investment banks are no longer required to be separate from the type of bank where you deposit your paycheck.

The SEC recently approved bitcoin ETFs in landmark investing decision

In January 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission made history when it decided to allow fund issuers to launch bitcoin ETFs. This new class of exchange-traded fund tracks spot bitcoin prices, essentially allowing investors to hold bitcoin without actually having to buy the crypto.

The environmental crises of the late 1960s led to the founding of the EPA

Disasters such as the Cuyahoga River fire and the Santa Barbara oil spill prompted Congress and President Nixon to establish the Environmental Protection Agency in December 1970, with the goal of unifying federal efforts to control pollution.

The Federal Reserve fought the Great Recession primarily with quantitative easing and repurchasing agreements.

Track how much the US government has spent on bailouts.

BlackRock played an integral role in the Federal Reserve's response to the Great Recession, managing about $30B of hard-to-sell Bear Stearns assets on behalf of the New York Fed.