Privacy Policy
PlainAdvisorCheck ("we," "us," "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect and use information when you visit plainadvisorcheck.com.
Data We Collect
- Analytics data: We use Google Analytics 4 and Umami Analytics to understand site usage (pages visited, time on site, geographic region). GA4 data is anonymized.
- Cookies: We use cookies for analytics and to remember your dark/light mode preference.
- No personal data collected: We do not collect names, emails, or financial information.
Data Sources
All financial firm data displayed on this site is sourced from FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC EDGAR, both public government databases. We do not collect or store user financial information.
Editorial Independence
Content on PlainAdvisorCheck is compiled by our editorial team: raw data from FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC EDGAR litigation releases is transformed into readable firm profiles by our continuous editorial pipeline, validated against the source before publication. The PlainAdvisorCheck editorial team is responsible for editorial standards, the letter-grade methodology, and corrections.
We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, SEC-regulated firms, or any covered entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense, advertisers do not influence which firms we cover, the letter grade assigned, or how disclosure events are presented, and they do not receive preferential placement.
Advertising
We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. You can opt out at google.com/settings/ads.
Your Rights
EU/EEA users have rights under GDPR including access, rectification, and deletion of personal data. California residents have rights under CCPA. Contact privacy@plainadvisorcheck.com for requests.
Contact
Advertising & Third-Party Cookies
This website displays advertising served by Google AdSense, a service provided by Google LLC. Google AdSense uses cookies and similar technologies to:
- Serve ads based on your prior visits to this website and other sites on the internet
- Measure ad performance and the effectiveness of advertising campaigns
- Detect and prevent invalid traffic, fraud, and abuse
Google, as a third-party vendor, uses the DoubleClick DART cookie to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings, aboutads.info, or (in the EEA/UK) Your Online Choices.
You can also opt out of third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting:
- Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) opt-out
- Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) opt-out
- European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA) opt-out (EEA visitors)
Cookies We Use
We and our advertising partners may set the following categories of cookies:
- Strictly necessary cookies - required for the site to function (session management, security)
- Analytics cookies - anonymized traffic measurement (Google Analytics, Umami) used to improve content
- Advertising cookies - set by Google AdSense and partner ad networks to display relevant ads
- Functional cookies - remember your preferences (dark mode, language)
You can control cookies through your browser settings or, for EEA/UK/CH visitors, via the consent banner displayed on first visit.
Data Retention & Your Rights
We retain analytics data for 26 months. Advertising cookies follow Google AdSense's standard retention policy.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or California, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Request correction or deletion
- Object to processing for direct marketing
- Lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority
To exercise these rights, please use the contact methods listed on our Contact page.
Every figure on PlainAdvisorCheck is rendered directly from FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC IAPD disciplinary records, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on SEC/FINRA regulatory filing data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.