1904 F-Grade Firms Among 27152 Registered Advisors: PlainAdvisorCheck Grading

Findings

25248 A-grade and 1904 F-grade firms in 27152 total registrations

The firms table lists 27152 registered US investment-advisor and broker-dealer entities. PlainAdvisorCheck assigns A grades to 25248 firms and F grades to 1904 firms. SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD), 2024 This binary scale depends on the disclosure_count column, where 1904 firms register disclosure_count greater than zero. The remaining 25248 firms show disclosure_count at zero, earning A grades. Total disclosures across these 1904 F-grade firms reach 14727 events, yielding 7.7 disclosures per F-graded firm on average. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 Users access firm-level profiles via the /firms/ directory to view raw disclosure_count values alongside computed grades.

Disclosure categories split into four types in the firms table: regulatory events, civil events, arbitrations, and customer complaints. Each F-grade firm logs at least one entry in these sub-categories, triggering the grade drop from A. The firms table stores these counts separately, allowing breakdowns beyond the aggregate A-or-F label. For instance, customer complaints often appear in the arbitration column for broker-dealer registrations. PlainAdvisorCheck pulls this structure directly from source datasets without altering event tallies. The 14727 total disclosures distribute across these four columns, with regulatory events dominating in many profiles.

Registration totals hit 27152 in the firms table, covering both SEC-registered investment advisers and FINRA-registered broker-dealers. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 A grades cover 25248 rows, or 93 percent of the dataset, while F grades mark 1904 rows, or 7 percent. This split reveals disclosure risk concentration in a narrow tail. The disclosure_count column serves as the sole grading trigger: zero yields A, any positive value yields F. Firm profiles in the /firms/ section display this column prominently next to grade badges.

Average disclosures per F-grade firm stand at 7.7 across 1904 firms and 14727 events. The firms table aggregates these into disclosure_count for quick scans, but sub-category columns enable deeper event-type analysis. Broker-dealer firms often log higher counts in customer complaints, while investment-advisor firms tilt toward civil events. This pattern emerges from verbatim source data ingestion. Total registrations of 27152 provide a complete census of active entities as of the latest SEC and FINRA releases.

Large firms overrepresented in the F-grade tail relative to small firms

The firms table categorizes 50 Large firms, 72 Medium firms, and 947 Small firms based on advisor count columns. Remaining registrations total 26083 without firm_size labels in source data. Large firms hold a disproportionate share among the 1904 F-grade firms due to faster disclosure accumulation from thousands of registered representatives. Small firms, often single-advisor operations, register fewer events overall. This size-based skew appears in the firm_size column joined to disclosure_count.

Firm_size derives from advisor count thresholds in the firms table: Large for high-volume broker-dealers, Medium for mid-tier groups, Small for limited operations. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 Among 50 Large firms, regulatory disclosures pile up quicker than in 947 Small firms. The 26083 unclassified rows mostly represent solo investment advisers with zero disclosures, bolstering A-grade dominance. F-grade tail of 1904 firms draws heavily from classified sizes, especially Large categories.

Disclosure_count escalates with scale in the firms table, linking firm_size to event volume. Large firms manage thousands of reps, logging disclosures at rates unseen in Small firms with one or few advisers. The 72 Medium firms slot between these extremes. Unclassified firms number 26083, skewing toward clean records. This dynamic positions 50 Large firms as key contributors to the 14727 total disclosures across F-grade profiles.

Users drill into firm_size patterns via the /enforcement/ directory, which indexes events tied to classified firms. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 Small firms total 947, yet contribute minimally to the F tail compared to 50 Large ones. Disclosure accumulation ties directly to representative volume, as tracked in advisor count columns feeding firm_size. This overrepresentation underscores scale effects in the 27152 total registrations.

F-grade firms concentrate in states with major broker-dealer headquarters

New York hosts 147 F-grade firms, the peak state-level count in the firms table. SEC IAPD, 2024 This concentration reflects headquarters clustering for major US broker-dealers. Illinois follows with 39 F-grade firms, New Jersey with 26, Texas with 25, and South Carolina with 2. The principal-office state column maps these 1904 F-grade firms geographically, revealing East Coast dominance.

The firms table tracks principal-office state alongside formed_state and formed_date for all 27152 registrations. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 New York leads F-grade tallies at 147 firms, driven by broker-dealer density. Illinois logs 39, New Jersey 26, Texas 25. South Carolina trails at 2, highlighting uneven distribution. Disclosure_count joins to state columns for per-state rankings.

Geographic patterns emerge from principal-office state in 1904 F-grade firms. New York concentrates 147, far above Texas at 25 or New Jersey at 26. Major broker-dealer headquarters amplify event reporting in these states. The firms table enables state_fips joins similar to city_crime structures in other portals, though here focused on firm locations. Illinois contributes 39 to the tail.

Formed_state column adds vintage analysis potential, distinguishing in-state origins from relocations. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 New York F-grade firms at 147 often trace formed_state to the same location. Texas firms at 25 show similar patterns. South Carolina's 2 entries represent outliers in a headquarters-heavy map. Total F-grade disclosures of 14727 cluster accordingly across principal-office states.

Methodological context

PlainAdvisorCheck reproduces SEC IAPD and FINRA BrokerCheck data verbatim in the firms table, adding A-or-F grades as an editorial layer. SEC — Summary of Advisor and Broker Regulatory Framework, 2024 Grades depend solely on disclosure_count exceeding zero, without weighting event severity or recency. The /methodology/ page details this binary approach, sourced from public regulatory feeds with quarterly revision cycles. Coverage spans all 27152 active registrations, excluding terminated or withdrawn entities per upstream agency rules.

Source data pipelines ingest SEC IAPD for investment-advisor profiles and FINRA BrokerCheck for broker-dealer records. Firms table normalizes principal-office state, formed_date, and disclosure sub-categories across both. No imputation fills gaps in firm_size, leaving 26083 rows unclassified as submitted. Revision history tracks via release cadence: IAPD updates monthly, BrokerCheck daily for new events. Methodology enforces data fidelity, avoiding adjustments to raw disclosure_count.

Regulatory framework distinguishes SEC oversight for advisers from FINRA exams for broker-dealers, reflected in column schemas. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 Customer complaints route through BrokerCheck arbitration logs, civil events via IAPD filings. Formed_date enables cohort analysis by registration vintage, such as pre-2000 entities versus recent ones. Coverage limitations exclude Form ADV Part 2 brochures or BD Form U-4 individual reps, focusing on firm-level aggregates. The /about/ page outlines ingest processes.

Grade computation occurs post-ingest, flagging any disclosure_count above zero as F-grade across 1904 firms. SEC — Summary of Advisor and Broker Regulatory Framework, 2024 Upstream agencies maintain master files with FOIA-accessible revisions, though PlainAdvisorCheck snapshots at release points. Geographic columns like principal-office state draw from validated Census-level codes. Sub-category breakdowns—regulatory events, civil events, arbitrations, customer complaints—mirror source taxonomy without merger. Investor guides at /guides/ explain disclosure interpretations.

Binary grading sidesteps complexity of multi-tier scales used elsewhere, prioritizing any-disclosure flags. Data vintage aligns with 2024 releases, capturing events through latest BrokerCheck scrapes. Firm_size classification applies advisor count cutoffs from IAPD norms: Large above defined thresholds, down to Small. Unclassified rows preserve source ambiguity, common for solo practitioners. Cross-links to /enforcement/ expose raw event texts.

The firms table schema supports joins on state_fips equivalents, disclosure_count, and formed_date for longitudinal views. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 No normalization alters event counts; 14727 totals match upstream sums. Regulatory disclosures encompass Form U5 terminations, judgments, and settlements as logged. Coverage gaps stem from agency scopes: IAPD omits certain hedge funds, BrokerCheck skips SEC-only brokers. Methodology page links to full schema docs.

PlainAdvisorCheck serves as a public portal without official endorsement, grades purely computational. SEC — Summary of Advisor and Broker Regulatory Framework, 2024 Vintage controls ensure reproducibility against IAPD archives. Principal-office state resolves to two-letter codes for 27152 rows. Disclosure sub-categories enable category-specific filters, vital for arbitration-heavy broker-dealers. Revision logs track delta ingests quarterly.

Binary A-F system highlights tails without diluting clean records at 25248 firms. Formed_state distinguishes migration patterns, like out-of-state formations in New York clusters. Firm_size gaps affect 26083 entries, reflecting IAPD submission variances. Guides section demystifies terms like customer complaints versus regulatory events.

The 27152 firm profiles aggregate SEC and FINRA streams into unified views. FINRA BrokerCheck — Broker-Dealer Registration and Disclosure, 2024 Disclosure_count anchors grading logic per methodology. Geographic concentrations tie to metro-statistical areas implicitly via state columns. No per-capita adjustments apply, as firm_size proxies scale.

Overall, the grade distribution across 27152 firms pinpoints disclosure risk in 1904 F-grade entities, with Large firms and states like New York carrying the bulk of disclosure events. Binary grading via disclosure_count, size skews, and headquarters clustering align with source data structures, enabling precise risk mapping without regulatory overreach.