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.
Pressure likely to be exerted on SEC, Finra, other agencies; 'unprecedented level of congressional oversight'
In October, a Finra arbitration panel ordered Citigroup to pay former 'Dallas' star Larry Hagman a whopping $11.6 million for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty. Yesterday, a judge threw out the award, saying that one of the panel members may not have been impartial.
Will Ferrell may have the No.1 movie in America. But that didn't cut any ice with a Finra arbitration panel, which ruled against Ferrell and Larry David in a claim against J.P. Morgan Securities.
Next Financial Group Inc. has been hit with a significant regulatory action for the third time in three years, with Finra this month levying a $400,000 fine and $102,000 in restitution to clients.
In yet another sign of the move toward regulatory harmonization, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has asked for input on how to create an ADV-like form for broker-dealers.
Elton Johnson, owner of Amerivet Securities Inc., has made a name for himself by being a thorn in the side of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.
Financial advisers are up in arms about the prospect of Finra's taking over the regulation of investment advisers from the SEC — an idea that has been gaining steam in recent months
With the SEC severely understaffed, investment industry officials are saying its becoming more likely than ever that advisers may find themselves regulated by a new body. The most likely candidate? Finra.
A growing fog of regulation is blurring the line that separates the compliance responsibilities of broker-dealers from those of their clearing firms.
The brokerage industry is facing a crackdown on the practice of selling away, as firms and regulators — still fearful of undetected frauds — dig deeper into the outside business activities of registered representatives.
Sanders Morris Harris facing disciplinary action for alleged violations of securities laws; two ex-employees also named
A broker-dealer executive and outspoken critic of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. lost his appeal of a Finra suspension for failing to supervise his staff adequately.
Industry regulators have fined Goldman Sachs $650,000 for failing to disclose that two of its brokers, including the executive accused of leading the mortgage securities deal that brought civil fraud charges against the firm, were under investigation by the government.
Slate of independent candidates from small firms elected; series of proxy proposals also approved
Proxy proposals seeking to shed more light on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. have emerged as a hot-button issue in the self-regulator's election for seven open board seats.
