Office address: 1700 K St NW, Washington, DC 20006
Website: finra.org
Year established: 2007 Company type: non-government organization
Employees: 4,200+
Expertise: securities regulation, broker-dealer supervision, market surveillance, enforcement and disciplinary actions, investor education, dispute resolution and arbitration, trade reporting transparency, cybersecurity and fraud detection
Parent company: N/A Key people: Robert Cook (CEO); Robert Colby (chief legal officer); Todd Diganci (CFO); Marcia Asquith (EVP); Ornella Bergeron, Denise Dombay, and Maureen Delaney (SVPs)
Financing status: N/A
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a Washington-based self-regulatory body that supervises more than 3,200 broker-dealers. It enforces rules, monitors trading, and runs tools such as TRACE, BrokerCheck, and the consolidated audit trail. In 2024, it posted $99 million net income and unveiled a crypto education program.
FINRA was officially formed in 2007 through a strategic merger. The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) joined forces with the New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE) regulatory division to operate as one.
This created a unified, independent regulator for America's securities industry. The move modernized oversight for a changing market and strengthened investor protections nationwide.
FINRA's story actually began decades earlier, in an era of economic recovery. The NASD registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1939. This registration formalized what traders had been doing informally for generations.
Congress had established the SEC in 1934 following the devastating market crash of 1929. Two years later, lawmakers passed the Maloney Act to regulate off-exchange securities trading more effectively.
The NASD spent 68 years evolving to match the changing securities landscape and technology. By the early 2000s, fragmented regulatory oversight became increasingly inefficient for a modern industry.
The 2007 merger created the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority by combining the NASD's institutional knowledge with the NYSE's regulatory expertise. This unified regulator now oversees all brokers and firms across US markets comprehensively.
As 2024 closed, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued substantial penalties against three major firms. These companies faced settlements for sending inaccurate trade information and filing flawed Focus reports. Year-end enforcement actions let both regulators and firms resolve lingering compliance issues cleanly.companies faced settlements for sending inaccurate trade information and filing flawed Focus reports. Year-end enforcement actions let both regulators and firms resolve lingering compliance issues cleanly.
Into 2025, FINRA's Regulatory Oversight Report highlighted three major threats to the industry. Cybersecurity vulnerabilities from third-party technology providers topped concerns alongside AI compliance challenges. Investment fraud schemes also continue to shift as bad actors devise new ways to deceive clients.
FINRA regulates broker-dealers and investment firms in America by combining enforcement with educational resources to protect investors and maintain market integrity:
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority also addresses emerging threats like cybersecurity risks and artificial intelligence compliance challenges. The organization remains focused on supporting a healthy, trustworthy securities market for all participants.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority reports that investor protection and market stability form the core of its mission. The regulator values its employees and delivers market-rate compensation with benefits such as:
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority also says that it does not discriminate in hiring based on disability, veteran status, and other protected classifications under federal, state, and local law. It complies with 41 CFR regulations protecting disabled individuals and veterans.
Robert W. Cook is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's president and CEO, with prior experience directing the SEC's trading and markets division. Before FINRA, Cook was a partner at a law firm in Washington. His education includes a JD from Harvard Law School, a master's degree from the London School of Economics, and an undergraduate from Harvard.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's leadership team includes the following key executives:
These executives manage the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's daily operations while upholding the organization's core mission to protect investors.
FINRA launched a targeted probe into broker-dealers underwriting small foreign company IPOs to combat pump-and-dump schemes. The regulator required detailed supervisory procedures and due diligence records for offerings between January 2023 and September 2025. This enforcement action positions the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as a proactive market protector against cross-border securities fraud.
The organization also penalized First Trust Portfolios, an ETF provider, in 2025 with a $10 million settlement for excessive gifts to broker-dealer representatives. The violations spanned from 2018 through February 2024 and included luxury courtside tickets and concert events. This enforcement action illustrates FINRA's commitment to preventing investor harm through strict non-cash compensation oversight.
Both the SEC and Finra have issued an alert about popular structured notes that claim to protect investors' principal. The problem? The notes don't always protect investors' principal.
Municipal-bond dealers failing to adequately disclose the risks of debt they handle should expect more disciplinary action, said Malcolm Northam, senior director of member regulation at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Michael Oxley, the former congressman who co-wrote the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, has registered as a lobbyist for Finra to promote its campaign to become the self-regulator of investment advisers
Although its wirehouse rivals are keeping their electronic drawbridges closed to social media, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC last week became the first major Wall Street firm to allow its financial advisers to use popular networking websites
Another small broker-dealer that sold high-risk private placements is out of business
Finra wants broker-dealers that sell risky Regulation D private placements to engage in a more vigorous due diligence process, “pushing and pulling” for information about the products, according to Richard Ketchum, chairman and chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.
In what can only be viewed as a surprise outcome, an independent broker-dealer has won a rare legal victory in the continuing scrum over private placements that has forced several broker-dealers to shut down
David Lerner Associates Inc. has been accused of targeting unsophisticated seniors while selling real estate investment trust shares without considering whether the illiquid securities were suitable for its clients
Another small, independent broker-dealer that faces mounting legal claims is exiting the business, this time after selling real estate deals by a bankrupt syndicator.
One of the strongest advocates for imposing a universal fiduciary duty for retail investment advice is urging a congressional committee to allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to move forward with such a rule.
Commission considering making it easier for investors to get in on Reg D offerings
The marketplace for nontraded real estate investment trusts has exploded with new offerings over the past couple of years, but executives at independent broker-dealers are leery of opening their platforms to such products
The first question advisers often ask me is, “What exactly can I do with social media?” While the compliance constraints everyone talks about are real, there are a number of strategies you can implement that will have a tremendous effect on your bottom line
The Securities Investor Protection Corp. is taking issue with a warning from the SEC's inspector general that the cost of liquidating the Bernie Madoff firm and Lehman Brothers could deplete SIPC's reserve fund. Those cases won't be a problem, SIPC chief executive Stephen Harbeck said today.
