The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is the federal agency that regulates the U.S. securities markets — administering the securities laws, requiring and reviewing disclosure, overseeing market participants, and enforcing the rules against fraud. Created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, it is the regulator behind nearly every framework in this glossary.
What the SEC does in the alternatives market
Four functions touch advisors and their clients directly. Disclosure administration: registration statements for public offerings (including non-traded REITs and BDCs), the ongoing reporting system, and EDGAR — the public database where all of it lives. Regulation of intermediaries: investment advisers register with and are examined by the SEC (or states), broker-dealers operate under SEC rules with FINRA as front-line supervisor, and conduct standards — the adviser fiduciary duty, Reg BI — are SEC constructions. Exemption frameworks: Regulation D, Reg S, Reg A+, and the fund exclusions that define private markets are SEC rules, and their conditions are where compliance lives. Enforcement: investigations and actions for fraud, disclosure failures, and fiduciary breaches — a steady presence in alternatives coverage, from sponsor misconduct cases to share-class and fee sweeps. The practical habit the agency enables: EDGAR is free, and the filings answer more diligence questions than any marketing deck.
Related terms
FINRA · Securities Act of 1933 · Securities Exchange Act of 1934 · Regulation D · Investment Adviser
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