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.
Bring on the fiduciary standard. In a recent InvestmentNews survey of almost 600 advisers, registered reps, financial planners, insurance agents and others, 69.2% said that they agree with the SEC's staff recommendation that any financial professional giving personalized investment advice be deemed a fiduciary
Given the chance to ease its regulatory burden, the Securities and Exchange Commission was expected to recommend that a self-regulatory organization be established to oversee investment advisers
A federal appeals court last Tuesday agreed that a lawsuit brought by a brokerage firm over the 2007 merger of NASD and the regulatory arm of the New York Stock Exchange should be thrown out
In a move that could affect what broker-dealers charge clients for securities transactions, Finra this month proposed dropping its long-standing 5% markup/markdown policy
Three independent broker-dealers are suing their respective insurance carriers for failing to cover investors' legal claims, with one charging that its insurer has exposed it to “financial ruin”
Two broker-dealers have emerged as early winners in the fight over the 400 representatives affiliated with QA3 Financial Corp., which officially shut down Friday
Securities Service Network Inc. is the latest broker-dealer to pull the plum out of the pie of the defunct <a href= http://www.investmentnews.com/section/broker-dealer-data-profile&R=290006&Y=2009 >QA3 Financial Corp.</b>
In the wake of some highly publicized private-placement offerings that went sour, the regulator's head of enforcement says the SRO aims to crack down on Reg D deals and non-traded REITs.
Says flood of comment letters raised some important points, which commission will consider
Management at Wells Investment Securities -- the broker-dealer of Leo Wells -- says the B-D is on Finra's radar. Apparently, the regulator is set to discipline the firm for allegedly violating advertising and data protection rules.
It's been a rough patch for QA3. The indie B-D has battled an insurer over coverage for lawsuits. In January, the firm lost a sizable arbitration claim filed by an elderly couple. And now, the final blow: an internal e-mail from boss Steve Wild says the brokerage will cease operating on Friday.
Finra wants to replace 5% policy with principles-based guidelines; enforcement could be a 'monumental task'
Executives at BlackRock Inc. and Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC are calling on regulators to address suitability requirements for the sale of sophisticated ETFs, such as commodities-based and leveraged funds.
National Securities Corp. is the latest broker-dealer to face disciplinary action from Finra over the sale of private placements gone bust
Finra is proposing to drop its 5% markup-markdown guideline, which can be traced back to the 1940s.
