South Dakota

Broker-dealer firm disciplinary records from FINRA BrokerCheck

Data updated July 2026

South Dakota at a glance

As of July 2026, South Dakota registers 4 broker-dealer firms on FINRA BrokerCheck - 3 carry a clean record and 1 disclosure are on file statewide.

4
registered firms: 3
with a clean record (Grade A): 1
total disclosures statewide: 0.3
disclosures per firm (avg)

Registered Firms

Clean Record (Grade A)

Total Disclosures

0.3

Avg Disclosures / Firm

Grade Distribution

How South Dakota's 4 graded broker-dealers split across the size-normalized A-F safety scale.

Grade breakdown of 4 graded firms headquartered in South Dakota

Firms by Disclosure Count

#	Firm	Disclosures	Offices	Grade
1	Variable Investment Associates, Inc. Tea	1	2	B
2	Bosonic Securities Spearfish	0	2	A
3	C.R. Lloyd Investment Services, LLC Sioux Falls	0	2	A
4	Ernst Capital Securities, LLC Sioux Falls	0	2	A

Inside South Dakota's Broker-Dealer Landscape

South Dakota has 4 actively registered broker-dealer firms in FINRA's public register, of which 3 (75.0%) carry a clean Grade-A record with no reportable BrokerCheck disclosures.

The state's aggregate disciplinary footprint totals 1 disclosure on BrokerCheck, averaging 0.3 per firm. Grade distribution across South Dakota's broker-dealers: 3 graded A, 1 graded B, 0 graded C, 0 graded D, and 0 graded F. That means 75.0% of graded firms hold an A and 0.0% fall into the D or F bands.

Grades reflect our internal model weighing disclosure volume against firm size and scope; they are editorial signals, not FINRA ratings. Disclosure totals on BrokerCheck represent reported events, not proven violations, large multistate firms headquartered in South Dakota will naturally carry more disclosures than small single-office firms. This page is informational only and is not financial, legal, or investment advice. Before hiring any South Dakota advisor, confirm the firm's current record at FINRA BrokerCheck and review the specific representative's individual CRD report.

Frequently asked questions

How many broker-dealer firms are registered in South Dakota?

South Dakota has 4 actively registered broker-dealer firms on FINRA BrokerCheck, of which 3 (75.0%) hold a clean Grade-A record with no reportable disclosures.

Which South Dakota broker-dealer has the most FINRA disclosures?

Among firms registered in South Dakota, Variable Investment Associates, Inc. carries the most reported BrokerCheck disclosures (1 across 2 branch offices). Disclosure totals reflect reported events, not proven violations, larger firms naturally carry more. Always review the specific records on FINRA BrokerCheck.

How are PlainAdvisorCheck safety grades calculated?

Grades are size-normalized: a firm's weighted disclosure load is divided by its branch-office footprint, then ranked within its size class. Firms with zero disclosures earn an A regardless of size. Grades are editorial signals, not FINRA ratings. See our methodology for the exact formula.

Is this official South Dakota broker data?

Yes. All firm records come from FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) - the official public registries for U.S. broker-dealers. PlainAdvisorCheck aggregates and size-normalizes them; the underlying records are public domain.

All South Dakota Firms → All States →

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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Data sourced from official FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC EDGAR enforcement records. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainAdvisorCheck Editorial

Compiled by PlainAdvisorCheck Editorial, Financial Advisor Discipline Editorial Team

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.