Broker-Dealer Safety Grade Statistics
A national snapshot of size-normalized broker-dealer safety grades, computed live from FINRA BrokerCheck disclosure records and cross-referenced against SEC IAPD. Each figure below is aggregated directly from the underlying firm-level records, not estimated.
- 20,055
- firms graded A-F
- 75%
- clean disciplinary record (Grade A)
- 2,526
- SEC enforcement actions tracked
- 41,823
- total reported disclosures
The national picture
Of the 20,055 broker-dealer firms graded from FINRA BrokerCheck disclosure records, 75% carry a clean record (Grade A), while 1% grade F for their size class. Firms with at least one reported disclosure average 8.2 disclosures each.
- 75%
- firms with a clean record (Grade A)
- 5,071
- firms with a reported disclosure
- 250
- graded F, heaviest for their size
- 2,526
- SEC enforcement actions tracked
Grades are size-normalized: a firm is judged against peers of similar branch footprint, so scale alone never earns a failing grade.
Firms by safety grade
How 20,055 graded broker-dealer firms distribute across size-normalized A-F grades.
A-F distribution across 20,055 graded firms
Reading these numbers: a national grade distribution sets context, but an individual firm's grade depends on its own disclosure history relative to its size class - a large firm with a modest disclosure count can still grade well, while a small firm with a few serious disclosures may not. 80,028 firms are registered in our database in total; the 20,055 figure above reflects only firms that have completed the full grading pipeline. Figures are refreshed as FINRA and the SEC publish new disclosure data; they describe reported regulatory history, not a prediction of future conduct, and are not investment advice.
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 FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC IAPD 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.
