Improvements Needed in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Efforts To Establish a National Securities Market

In 1975, Congress gave the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) responsibility for overseeing the development of a national market for trading securities. Such a market would ensure that all buyers and sellers of securities, regardless of geographic location, would have the opportunity to get the best prices when trading securities. Although GAO did not have time to formulate a reliable estimate of the possible savings that could result from a national market system, estimates from other sources ranged from 50 to 100 million dollars annually.