There are two primary sets of federal securities laws that come into play when a company wants to offer and sell its securities securities act of 1933 securities act securities exchange act of 1934 exchange act securities act the securities act regulates offers and sales of securities in the united states unless an offering qualifies for an exemption from registration the securities act requires the company to file a registration statement containing information about itself the . The federal securities laws govern the offer and sale of securities and the trading of securities activities of certain professionals in the industry investment companies such as mutual funds tender offers proxy statements and generally the regulation of public companies public company regulation is largely a disclosure driven regime but it has grown in recent years to the point that it has begun to dictate certain issues of corporate governance. The two main statutes involved in the federal securities laws are the the securities act of 1933 and the the securities exchange act of 1934 generally speaking the 33 act governs the issuance of securities by companies and the 34 act governs the trading purchase and sale of those securities each has a wealth of regulations promulgated by the securities and exchange commission as well as regulations adopted by the national association of securities dealers inc and the various