Beginning in 2005, the SEC has been consistently recognized as one of the top five Best Places to Best Places to Work logoWork in the Federal Government. The rankings are based upon surveys completed by Federal Government employees, including those of the SEC. The SEC’s most recent rank is number three, its highest ever.
SEC Voted One of the ‘Best Places to Work’

SEC Snapshot and Financial Performance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Logo. Financial Snapshot

Our Agency

The SEC is an independent federal agency established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It is headed by a bipartisan five-member Commission, comprised of the Chairman, who serves as the chief executive officer, and four Commissioners.

The SEC’s headquarters are in Washington, D.C., and it has 11 regional offices located throughout the country. The SEC is renowned for its tradition of dedicated and professional employees who set the standard for public service. The agency is proud of its achievement in being named one of the Federal Government’s Best Places to Work as determined by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. Since 2005, the SEC has moved from its first-ever top five ranking to the top three organization for large agencies. During 2008, the SEC employed 3,511 Full-time Equivalents (FTE), including 3,442 permanent and 69 temporary FTE.

Our Budget

Like many federal agencies, the SEC operates in an environment of ever increasing fiscal constraints. In fiscal year (FY) 2008, Congress authorized the SEC to spend $906 million, roughly a 2 percent increase over FYs 2006 and 2007 funding of approximately $888 million. During this time, the agency worked to sustain its emphasis on enforcing federal securities laws, dedicating over 60 percent of its resources each year to the enforcement and examination programs.