Our purpose—more compelling than ever

The SEC’s fundamental purpose—to restore investor confidence in the capital markets by providing investors and the markets with more reliable information and clear rules of honest dealing—is more compelling than ever. The current credit crisis has shown the importance of transparency to a healthy marketplace, and how costly hidden risk can be. To address the extraordinary challenges caused by the current credit crisis, the SEC has taken decisive actions:




Number 1Working to restore trust—enforcing the law, strengthening credit ratings, and establishing clear and consistent rules



Number 2Making the SEC globally active—working closely with regulators around the world to enforce laws across jurisdictions, and supporting high-quality and consistent international accounting standards



Number 3Modernizing for the 21st century—investing in new technology and analytic tools to strengthen law enforcement, enhance investor disclosure and protections, and improve the way the SEC operates



Number 4Putting individual investors first—closing regulatory gaps, extending retail investor protections, and making investing more understandable for ordinary Americans