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Abstract
This year the author and his colleagues celebrate the 75th anniversary of the enactment of two of the crowning legislative achievements of the last century: the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act were the last in a series of laws designed to eliminate certain abuses in the securities industry, abuses which were found to have contributed to the stock market crash of 1929 and the depression of the 1930's. The Investment Advisers Act was the last in the series of securities legislation that Congress enacted in 1940. Unlike the Investment Company Act, which contains specific requirements and limitations under which investment companies must operate, the Investment Advisers Act is a relatively short, principles-based statute that has been interpreted to impose a fiduciary standard on money managers. The Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act have had a profound impact on the capital markets and on investors.