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.
Finra also censured the firm in connection with privacy breaches that occurred during transfers of new clients.
The registration application known as Form U4 asks an applicant for a variety of information, from employment history to whether he or she has been convicted of or charged with a felony.
The self-regulator saw a sharp turnaround after taking a $45.9 million loss in 2019. The results were driven, in large part, by the revenue generated from increased trading activity.
In 2016, Finra launched a targeted examination of UIT sales, discounts and rollovers across the brokerage industry, and a number of firms have incurred penalties and fines in its aftermath.
The sum, received by The Leaders Group Inc., appears to be in the middle range of government loans received by privately held broker-dealers who obtained Covid-19 business relief.
Ramiro Jose Sugranes of UCB Financial allegedly steered profitable trades to accounts controlled by his relatives.
The broker David A. Rockwell defrauded a bank when he applied for lines of credit in the names of two clients
The regulator's proposed rule would also allow brokers to leave the industry and maintain their registration longer if they complete continuing education, a move that could benefit women who step away to have families.
Ending mandatory arbitration has become a top priority for consumer advocacy groups, like the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association and others, that claim investors should have the option of laying out their case before a judge or jury.
Newly minted CIO Bob Doll of Crossmark joins to discuss his move. Susan Schroeder of WilmerHale, the former head of enforcement at Finra, chats about her memories of interesting enforcement actions at Finra and the Finra/SEC relationship.
The organization will reopen hearings on Aug. 2 in seven jurisdictions that had remained closed. Finra postponed in-person arbitration hearings when the pandemic began in March 2020.
The industry finally has the data about rogue brokers who take refuge in the land of insurance sales, and the picture is pretty ugly.
James Couture was discharged by LPL in June 2020 and barred by Finra last October.
Last year, Finra allocated $73.8 million of fine and reserve monies to fund capital initiatives and $16.4 million to pay for investor education and firm compliance.
The measure, which would have established a special roster of arbitrators to hear broker requests to clear their records, was criticized by PIABA as being too limited to address the problem.
