Researchers and LibrariansEasy Access to Selected Securities and Investor Information at the SEC
Researchers and Librarians-Easy Access to Selected Securities and Investor Information at the SEC
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
Current Issues at the SEC
Enron, Hedge Funds, Sarbanes-Oxley, and more
http://www.sec.gov/spotlight.shtml
Official Documents and Reports
Releases
Press Releases
http://www.sec.gov/news/press.shtml
Rulemaking
http://www.sec.gov/rules.shtml
No Action Letters, Staff Accounting Bulletins, Staff Legal Bulletins
http://www.sec.gov/interps.shtml
Reports
Special Studies
http://www.sec.gov/news/studies.shtml
Annual Report of the SEC
http://www.sec.gov/about/annrep.shtml
Litigation, Decisions, Opinions, Enforcement Cases
Enforcement actions, opinions, briefs, trading suspensions, investors claims funds
http://www.sec.gov/litigation.shtml
Annual compilation of enforcement cases by category in the appendix of the SEC Annual Report
http://www.sec.gov/about/annrep.shtml
Accountants and Auditors
Information on the SEC's website for accountants and auditors
http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/oca.htm
Laws, Rules, Regulations
Rules and regulations are generally at volume 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations (17 CFR)
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html
Federal securities laws
http://www.sec.gov/about/laws.shtml
Agency Rulemaking and Release Identification
Rulemaking Releases
- The agency may begin the rulemaking process by issuing a concept release.
- The agency may skip this process and instead issue a proposed rule.
- Concept releases and proposed rules are put out for notice and comment.
- After the notice and comment period on a proposed rule, the agency generally issues a final rule.
- Rules and releases appear in the Federal Register
Release Identification
Under the securities laws, the Commission can bring enforcement actions either in the federal courts or internally through an administrative proceeding. For federal court cases, the agency issues a "litigation release" to announce the filing and resolution of each lawsuit. Litigation releases always begin with the letters "LR" (for example, LR-12345). For administrative proceedings, there are four general types of releases:
- Press releases are numbered beginning with the year followed by a sequential number: 2004-1, 2004-2 …
- Rule releases have a 2-character prefix that tells which law the rule primarily involves:
- 1933 Act: 33-12345
- 1934 Act: 34-12345
- 1935 Act: 35-45678
- 1939 Act: 39-23456
- 1940 Investment Company Act: IC-12345
- 1940 Investment Advisers Act: IA-12345
- There maybe several act numbers assigned to a single release
- A notice of institution and/or settlement of administrative proceedings, which will have a sequential number containing 2-digit prefix that tells you which securities law the defendant allegedly violated (e.g., IA-1234, 34-1234);
- An initial decision by an administrative law judge (ALJ) in a contested case, which will have a sequential number (e.g., Initial Decision No. 1234 or ID-1234);
- A notice that an ALJ's initial decision has become final, which will have a new and different sequential number containing the 2-digit prefix (e.g., IA-5678, 34-5678); and
- A Commission order or opinion on appeal from an ALJ's initial decision, which will have another new and different sequential number with the 2-digit prefix (e.g., IA-91011, 34-91011).
Finding Company Information
EDGAR (SEC's Online Database of Company Reports)
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
How to Use EDGAR
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/quickedgar.htm
Corporate Reports, How to Get
http://www.sec.gov/answers/companyinfo.htm
Info About Some Companies Not Available at SEC
http://www.sec.gov/answers/noinfo.htm
Investor Information by Topic
http://www.sec.gov/investor.shtml
Investor Education Publications
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs_subject.shtml
Calculators for Investors
http://www.sec.gov/investor/tools.shtml
Check Out Your Broker
http://www.sec.gov/investor/brokers.htm
Pathfinders/Annotated Guides
Beginners' Guide to Investing
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/begininvest.htm
Beginners' Guide to Mutual Funds
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/beginmutual.htm
Guide to Identifying and Avoiding Securities Fraud
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/identavoidfraud.htm
How to File a Complaint with the SEC
SEC Center for Complaints and Enforcement Tips
http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml
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Last Reviewed or Updated: Jan. 19, 2012