Providing Tools and Resources to Protect Investors

Reliable information is an essential part of making informed investment decisions. FINRA and other industry regulators offer free tools and resources to help investors research investment professionals, firms and products with confidence.

One valuable resource offered by FINRA is BrokerCheck, a free tool that allows investors to research financial professionals and firms. With BrokerCheck, you can research the background and experience of financial professionals and firms, including employment history, qualifications, disciplinary records and other key information. The tool covers FINRA-registered financial professionals and firms, as well as investment advisor representatives and firms registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators.

In addition, FINRA and the National Futures Association (NFA) have cross-linked their investor protection databases to give investors easier access to background information on financial professionals and firms across both the securities and derivatives industries. FINRA's BrokerCheck now directly links to NFA's Background Affiliation Status Information Center (BASIC), and BASIC contains a reciprocal link to BrokerCheck. BASIC is a free tool that investors can use to research the background of derivatives industry professionals and firms.

"Investors seeking to perform their own due diligence on a financial professional have faced a daunting challenge: The information they need is often spread across multiple databases. By linking BrokerCheck and BASIC, we are helping investors more easily research the professionals they are entrusting with their investments and finances," said Christine Kieffer, Senior Vice President of FINRA's Office of Investor Education.

This progress follows FINRA's call for more connectivity among regulators' databases without needing to reengineer or integrate existing databases to provide investors with more cohesive access to the regulatory resources they need to evaluate financial professionals and make informed financial decisions.

FINRA also provides consolidated information about free financial industry investor resources--including an overview of and links to helpful financial tools, informational databases and educational materials--offered by regulatory and oversight organizations across the financial industry.

Additional FINRA Resources

FINRA offers more resources to help you along your investment journey, whether you're just getting started or are an experienced investor.

• Working With an Investment Professional – Learn about the different types of financial professionals you might encounter and what services each type offers. You'll also find guidance on how to choose and maintain a successful partnership with a professional, including questions to ask and steps to take.
• Protect Your Money – Learn how to recognize investment fraud and scams and tips to protect yourself, as well as the importance of checking registrations for both professionals and products.
• Investor Insights – Build your investing knowledge through articles about a variety of investment-related topics, including products, strategies and trends, as well as the latest fraud alerts.
• Tools and Calculators – Explore an extensive suite of investor tools, including a center to explore investment data, various savings calculators, and quizzes to test your knowledge. You can also find information about a range of professional designations related to finance, including prerequisites and educational requirements, in FINRA's Professional Designations Database.
• Need Help – Find out where to turn for help if you have concerns or problems that arise during the investment process, including FINRA's online complaint form and the Securities Helpline for Seniors.

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