50th ANNIVERSARY OF SPECIAL STUDY

"The years I spent working with the dedicated lawyers, economists, and accountants of the Special Study were among the most satisfying and meaningful of my professional life. We worked extraordinarily long hours and we worked collegially. Most of us were young - very young. We were brash and we thought we knew more than we did. But we were dedicated to serving the public interest and I believe we did so in an important way."

October 2, 2001 Remembrance of Arthur J. Rothkopf

In 1963, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released the Special Study of Securities Markets. Called the single most influential document published in the history of the SEC, the Study provided the foundation for many of the reforms that occurred in the securities industry in the coming decade.

Central to the findings of the Special Study were the limits of industry self-regulation. The Study concluded that industry self-regulation had often been self-interested, more protective of industry business concerns than the concerns of the public. Protecting investors from unfair and unequal stock exchange practices became a major focus of the SEC as a result of the Special Study. Visit Special Study of Securities Markets in The Bright Image: The SEC, 1961-1973 Gallery for more about the Special Study.