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.
The agency said Boca Raton, Florida-based National Securities deceived investors in December 2017 and January 2018 about the price of shares in the private placement offering.
The broker, Marianne O'Shee Smith, a 34-year veteran of the securities industry, used $45,100 she had received from three customers, all senior citizens.
Petitions to confirm or vacate awards are now more likely to be heard in state courts, where judges tend to be more skeptical of arbitration than their federal counterparts.
Seniors lose more than $3 billion annually as a result of financial scams and other forms of elder abuse, and as baby boomers continue to age, this already staggering figure is sure to rise.
A Finra hearing panel also ordered the Salt-Lake City broker-dealer to pay $2.3 million in restitution.
Dempsey Lord Smith and BD4RIA were negligent in 2018 when they failed to inform clients that GPB had missed a deadline for filing financial information, according to Finra.
The fine and restitution to customers stem from sales of two alternative investments, the LJM Preservation & Growth Fund and private placements issued by GPB Capital Holdings.
The Securities and Exchange Commission chairman raised questions about the effect that behavioral prompts — like encouraging clients to trade more often or using algorithms to steer them into high-risk, high-fee products — might have on investing outcomes.
James Iannazzo, 48, was arrested in January, faces three charges and is seeking probation.
Scott Allen Fries, a former Transamerica rep and adviser, took at least $458,000 from at least 10 individuals.
Finra didn't provide details about the rules, which will be made public when they're submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The broker, Mario E. Rivero Jr., 38, was registered with Wells Fargo Advisors from December 2010 through October 2020 and then at LPL Financial until last June, when he was barred from the securities industry.
In an unusual aspect of the investors' claim and subsequent award against First Allied Securities, the $2.66 million in damages requested matched the amount the three arbitrators awarded.
Firms say technological advances allow them to oversee reps no matter where they work. A compliance expert cautions that the best evidence of malfeasance is found on site.
The regulator is assessing the risks that may arise when retail investors purchase complicated investments without the help of a financial adviser.
