Subpart A-Organization and Program Management

AUTHORITY: 15 U.S.C. 77s, 78d-1, 78d-2, 78w, 7811(d), 78mm, 79t, 77sss, 80a-37, 80b-11, unless otherwise noted.

Sections 200.27, 200.27a, 200.30-6, and 200.306a are also issued under 15 U.S.C. 77e, 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 77q, 77u, 78e, 78g, 78h, 781, 78k, 78m, 780, 780-4, 78q, 78q-1, 78t-1, 78u, 77hhh, 77uuu, 80a-41, 80b-5, and 80b-9.

Section 200.30-1 is also issued under 15 U.S.C. 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 78c(b) 781, 78m, 78n, 780(d).

Section 200.30-3 is also issued under 15 U.S.C. 78b, 78d, 78f, 78k-1, 78s, 78q, 78eee, 79d. Section 200.30-5 is also issued under 15 U.S.C. 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 78c(b), 781, 78m, 78n, 780(d), 80a-8, 80a-20, 80a-24, 80a-29, 80b-3, 80b4.

SOURCE: 27 FR 12712, Dec. 22, 1962, unless otherwise noted.

§200.1 General statement and statutory authority.

The Securities and Exchange Commission was created in 1934 under the Securities Exchange Act. That Act transferred to the Commission the administration of the Securities Act of 1933, formerly administered by the Federal Trade Commission. Subsequent laws assigned to the Securities and Exchange Commission for administration are: Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, Trust Indenture Act of 1939, Investment Company Act of 1940, and Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In addition, under the Bankruptcy Code, the Commission is a statutory party in cases arising under chapters 9 and 11. Considered together, the laws administered by the Commission provided for the following.

(a) Public disclosure of pertinent facts concerning public offerings of securities and securities listed on national securities exchanges and certain securities traded in the over-thecounter markets.

(b) Enforcement of disclosure requirements in the soliciting of proxies for meetings of security holders by companies whose securities are registered pursuant to section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, public utility holding companies, and their subsidiaries and investment compa

nies.

(c) Regulation of the trading in securities on national securities exchanges and in the over-the-counter markets.

(d) Investigation of securities frauds, manipulations, and other violations, and the imposition and enforcement of legal sanctions therefor.

(e) Registration, and the regulation of certain activities, of brokers, dealers and investment advisers.

(f) Supervision of the activities of mutual funds and other investment companies.

of statutory

(g) Administration standards governing protective and other provisions of trust indentures under which debt securities are sold to the public.

(h) Regulation of the purchase and sale of securities, utility properties, and other assets by registered public utility holding companies and their electric and gas utility subsidiaries; enforcement of statutory standards for public utility holding company system simplification and integration; and approval of their reorganization, mergers and consolidations.

(i) Protection of the interests of public investors involved in bankruptcy reorganization cases and in bankruptcy cases involving the adjustment of debts of a municipality.

(j) Administrative sanctions, injunctive remedies, civil money penalties and criminal prosecution. There are also private rights of action for investors injured by violations of the Acts. (15 U.S.C. 78d-1, 78d-2; 11 U.S.C. 901, 1109(a)) [27 FR 12712, Dec. 22, 1962, as amended at 43 FR 13375, Mar. 30, 1978; 49 FR 12684, Mar. 30, 1984; 60 FR 14623, Mar. 20, 1995; 60 FR 32794, June 23, 1995]

§ 200.2 Statutory functions.

Following are brief descriptions of the Commission's functions under each of the statutes it administers:

(a) Securities Act of 1933. (1) Issuers of securities making public offerings for sale in interstate commerce or through the mails, directly or by others on their behalf, are required to file with the Commission registration statements containing financial and other pertinent data about the issuer and the offering. A similar requirement is provided with respect to such public offerings on behalf of a controlling person

of the issuer. Unless a registration statement is in effect with respect to such securities, it is unlawful to sell the securities in interstate commerce or through the mails. (There are certain limited exemptions, such as government securities, non-public offerings, and intrastate offerings.) The effectiveness of a registration statement may be refused or suspended after a hearing if the statement contains material misstatements or omissions, thus barring sale of the securities until it is appropriately amended. Registration is not a finding by the Commission as to the accuracy of the facts disclosed; and it is unlawful so to represent. Moreover, registration of securities does not imply approval of the issue by the Commission or insure investors against loss in their purchase, but serves rather to provide information upon which investors may make an informed and realistic evaluation of the worth of the securities.

(2) Persons responsible for filing false information with the Commission subject themselves to the risk of fine or imprisonment or both; and the issuing company, its directors, officers, and the underwriters and dealers and others may be liable in damages to purchasers of registered securities if the disclosures in the registration statements and prospectus are materially defective. Also the statute contains antifraud provisions which apply generally to the sale of securities, whether or not registered.

(b) Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This Act requires the filing of registration applications and annual and other reports with national securities exchanges and the Commission, by companies whose securities are listed on the exchanges. Annual and other reports must be filed also by certain companies whose securities are traded on the over-the-counter markets. These must contain financial and other data prescribed by the Commission for the information of investors. Material misstatements or omissions are grounds for suspension or withdrawal of the security from exchange trading. This Act makes unlawful any solicitation of proxies, authorizations, or consents in contravention of Commission rules. These rules require disclosure of