2019 Industry Snapshot
FINRA regulates a critical part of the securities industry – member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. In an effort to increase public awareness and understanding about the broad range of FINRA-registered firms and individuals, FINRA shares an annual snapshot of some of the data collected in the course of its work.
The FINRA Industry Snapshot 2019 provides a high-level overview of the industry, ranging from the number of FINRA-registered individuals to the overall revenues of firms, and from trading activity to how firms market their products and services. All of the data are reported in aggregate to respect the confidentiality of regulatory information.
Note: FINRA regularly updates historical data series due to data revisions by reporting firms.
Anyone actively involved in a FINRA-registered firm’s investment banking or securities business must be registered as a representative with FINRA (FINRA-registered representative). To become registered, securities professionals are required to pass qualification exams to demonstrate competence in their particular securities activities. A FINRA-registered representative’s duties may include supervision, solicitation or training of persons associated with the member firm.
Total Number of FINRA Registered Firms and Representatives
2014 – 20181
(Count as of year-end)
1Firms conducting securities transactions and business with the investing public must be registered with FINRA. Firms must meet certain membership standards to attain registrations.