Original data research from PlainAdvisorCheck. Every page derives its statistics from our own database, cites primary sources inline, and documents its methodology and limits.
Research at a glance
PlainAdvisorCheck research covers 20,055 graded FINRA-registered firms (3,051 active), including 5,071 with at least one disclosure and 41,823 disclosure records in total.
Every figure is computed from the portal database and links to its method and source context.
Citigroup Global Markets (1,233 disclosures), UBS Financial Services (926), and Morgan Stanley & Co. (552) carry the highest total disclosure counts among currently-active firms, yet most grade B or C once their records are normalized by branch footprint.
Among firms with a reported principal-office state, Missouri (34.3 disclosures per firm), Rhode Island (31.3), and South Carolina (19.7) top the per-firm rankings, driven by a few large firms in states with few reporting firms, a small-denominator effect.
Among 20,055 confirmed firms, 14,984 earn a clean Grade A and only 250 an F. Once disclosures are normalized by branch footprint, the heaviest grades fall on small firms, not the big national names.
Download broker-dealer-safety-grade-statistics.csv for the national aggregates behind these studies. When reusing the table, name PlainAdvisorCheck as the compiler.