The first official mutual fund, the Massachusetts Investors Trust, was established in 1924. It experienced growth of more than 700 percent in its first year, and other success stories followed. The stock market crash of 1929 crippled the investment climate for some time. However it provided the impetus to create the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and pass the Investment Company Act of 1940. This set the guidelines that fund companies follow to this day.