Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Long title	An act to provide for the regulation of securities exchanges and of over-the-counter markets operating in interstate and foreign commerce and through the mails, to prevent inequitable and unfair practices on such exchanges and markets, and for other purposes.
Nicknames	Securities Exchange Act Exchange Act 1934 Act '34 Act
Enacted by	the 73rd United States Congress
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 73–291
Statutes at Large	48 Stat. 881
Codification
Titles amended	15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade
U.S.C. sections created	15 U.S.C. § 78a et seq.
Legislative history
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 6, 1934
Major amendments
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act
United States Supreme Court cases
Silver v. N.Y. Stock Exch., 373 U.S. 341 (1963) J.I. Case Co. v. Borak, 377 U.S. 426 (1964) TSC Indus. v. Northway, 426 U.S. 438 (1976) Chiarella v. United States, 445 U.S. 222 (1980) Basic Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224 (1988) Central Bank of Denver v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, 511 U.S. 164 (1994) Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211 (1995) Wharf Holdings v. United Int'l Holdings, 532 U.S. 588 (2001) Dura Pharm. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336 (2005) Stoneridge Inv. Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta, 552 U.S. 148 (2008) Matrixx Initiatives v. Siracusano, 563 U.S. 27 (2011) Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC v. Simmonds, 566 U.S. 221 (2012) Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc., 573 U.S. 258 (2014) Salman v. United States, No. 15-628, 580 U.S. ___ (2016) Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 18-1501, 591 U.S. ___ (2020) Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, No. 20-222, 594 U.S. ___ (2021) Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 21-86, 598 U.S. ___ (2023) Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, L.P., No. 22-1165, 601 U.S. ___ (2024)

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (also called the Exchange Act, '34 Act, or 1934 Act) (Pub. L. 73–291, 48 Stat. 881, enacted June 6, 1934, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 78a et seq.) is a law governing the secondary trading of securities (stocks, bonds, and debentures) in the United States of America.^[1] A landmark piece of wide-ranging legislation, the Act of '34 and related statutes form the basis of regulation of the financial markets and their participants in the United States. The 1934 Act also established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),^[2] the agency primarily responsible for enforcement of United States federal securities law.

Companies raise billions of dollars by issuing securities in what is known as the primary market. Contrasted with the Securities Act of 1933, which regulates these original issues, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 regulates the secondary trading of those securities between persons often unrelated to the issuer, frequently through brokers or dealers. Trillions of dollars are made and lost each year through trading in the secondary market.