FINRA and the FINRA Foundation have agreed with an APMA request to allow use of FINRA materials in support of APMA efforts to provide sound personal financial management tools and information to American Mariners. Quick resources on this page will get you to retirement and investment information to help navigate this critical goal of your financial freedom and security.
*The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.® (FINRA®) is the largest independent regulator of securities firms doing business with the public in the United States. FINRA’s core mission is to pursue investor protection and market integrity. They carry it out by overseeing virtually every aspect of the securities industry. As of December 31, 2012, FINRA oversaw nearly 4,300 brokerage firms, approximately 161,000 branch offices and almost 630,000 registered securities representatives.
FINRA regulates the activities of the U.S. securities industry and perform market regulation under contract for the New York Stock Exchange LLC (NYSE), NYSE Arca, Inc. (NYSE Arca), NYSE MKT LLC (NYSE MKT), the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ), NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (Boston), NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC (Philadelphia) and other exchanges.
The FINRA Investor Education Foundation® provides innovative research and educational projects aimed at segments of the investing public who could benefit from additional resources.
FINRA is the first line of defense for investors — working in communities all across the nation. In addition to regulating both firms and individuals in the securities industry, FINRA monitors 80 percent of all trading in U.S. listed equities markets — or nearly 6 billion shares traded each day.
FINRA is authorized by Congress to take action to ensure that investors are protected and conducts front-line work for the SEC under that agency’s oversight. In 2012, FINRA brought 1,541 disciplinary actions against registered individuals and firms, levied fines totaling more than $69 million and ordered restitution of $34 million to harmed investors, a record amount. (*from the FINRA 2012 Year in Review and Annual Financial Report)