Securities Law: What Is a Security & Who Regulates It?

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Securities Law: What Is a Security & Who Regulates It?

This course is part of Securities Law for Business and Finance Professionals Specialization

Instructor: Verity Winship

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2 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

8 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

2 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

8 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Identify the sources of U.S. securities law and explain the roles of the 1933 and 1934 Acts, the SEC, mandatory disclosure, and materiality.
Analyze whether stocks, notes, and investment contracts are securities by applying cases such as Foreman, Reeves, and the Howey test.
Evaluate whether partnership interests, LLC interests, and digital tokens qualify as securities under an economic reality approach.

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This course is part of the Securities Law for Business and Finance Professionals Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

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There are 2 modules in this course

This course is for business, technology, compliance, and other professionals without a legal background who need to understand how U.S. securities law works and when it applies. You will begin with the foundations: how securities laws are named and cited, the sources of securities law, the roles of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the structure of the SEC, and the role of mandatory disclosure and materiality. You will then examine how federal law defines a security, using Supreme Court cases on stock, notes, and investment contracts, including the Howey test. You will also learn how courts treat partnership and LLC interests, and how regulators apply the same framework to new products such as digital tokens. Throughout, the course emphasizes economic reality over labels.

You will learn how securities law draws on statutes, SEC rules and regulations, and court decisions, how the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 divide regulation between the primary and secondary markets, and how to refer to these statutes and their amendments by common names and official U.S. Code citations. You will also learn how the SEC is structured and what it does, why securities law relies on mandatory disclosure and anti-fraud liability, and how the materiality standard determines which information matters to a reasonable investor. You will also examine Basic v. Levinson, including its probability-magnitude test for uncertain events and the fraud-on-the-market presumption for reliance.

What's included

10 videos1 reading8 assignments

10 videosTotal 39 minutes

Talking About Securities Law - Terms and Labels2 minutes
Finding Securities Statutes4 minutes
Big Question - Introduction to Securities Regulation2 minutes
Legal Sources3 minutes
Foundational Securities Statutes4 minutes
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)4 minutes
Disclosure7 minutes
Materiality in Securities Law4 minutes
Case Focus: Basic v. Levinson7 minutes
A Message on Your Professional Development Paths1 minute

1 readingTotal 2 minutes

Now Build Toward a Credential from Illinois Law2 minutes

8 assignmentsTotal 240 minutes

Knowledge Check: Welcome to Securities Law30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Big Question - Introduction to Securities Regulation30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Legal Sources30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Foundational Securities Statutes30 minutes
Knowledge Check: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Disclosure30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Materiality in Securities Law30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Case Focus: Basic v. Levinson30 minutes

You will learn why classification as a security determines whether disclosure requirements and SEC jurisdiction apply, and how the 1933 and 1934 Acts define a security through a list of categories rather than a single definition. You will also learn how courts apply those categories to stock, notes, and investment contracts by focusing on economic reality instead of labels, using cases such as United Housing Foundation v. Foreman, Reeves v. Ernst & Young, and SEC v. Howey. You will then see how the Howey test applies to partnership and LLC interests and to digital tokens, as illustrated by the Turnkey Jet no-action letter.

What's included

7 videos1 reading7 assignments

7 videosTotal 30 minutes

The Big Question - What Is a Security?1 minute
The Statutory Definition of a “Security”9 minutes
The Howey Test6 minutes
Interests in Partnership and Limited Liability Companies5 minutes
New “Securities” and Pressure on the Howey Test4 minutes
Overview and Recap of Definition of a Security4 minutes
A Message on Your Professional Development Path1 minute

1 readingTotal 2 minutes

Now Build Toward a Credential from Illinois Law2 minutes

7 assignmentsTotal 181 minutes

Content Confirmation1 minute
Knowledge Check: The Big Question - What Is a Security?30 minutes
Knowledge Check: The Statutory Definition of a “Security”30 minutes
Knowledge Check: The Howey Test30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Interests in Partnership and Limited Liability Companies30 minutes
Knowledge Check: New “Securities” and Pressure on the Howey Test30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Overview and Recap of Definition of a Security30 minutes

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Instructor

Verity Winship

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

1 Course1 learner

Offered by

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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