The securities industry ended 2025 with the highest number of registered representatives in its history, even as the number of broker-dealer firms operating under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) oversight continued to decline.
According to FINRA's annual data release, the number of FINRA-registered representatives reached 639,723 at the end of 2025, up from 634,498 in 2024. The increase extended a growth trend that began in 2021, when the industry counted 612,392 registered representatives. According to InvestmentNews, FINRA attributed that growth to approximately 40,000 to 45,000 individuals entering the securities industry each year.
InvestmentNews reports that one of the most notable trends involved the continued rise of dual registrations. By year-end 2025, more than half of all FINRA-registered representatives, or 331,802 individuals, held both broker-dealer and investment adviser registrations. Just a few years ago, representatives registered solely with broker-dealers constituted the majority of the industry workforce.
While the number of registered professionals increased, the broker-dealer landscape continued to contract. According to InvestmentNews, the number of FINRA-registered broker-dealers fell to 3,184 at the end of 2025, down from 3,249 a year earlier and 3,394 in 2021. During 2025, 163 firms exited FINRA membership while only 98 firms joined.
Smaller firms experienced the greatest impact from this consolidation trend. FINRA defines small firms as those employing between one and 150 registered representatives. The number of those firms declined to 2,832 in 2025 from 3,048 in 2021.
According to InvestmentNews, the data also showed that established firms increasingly dominate the industry. The median age of broker-dealers reached 20.2 years in business, compared to 15.4 years in 2015, suggesting that newer entrants face greater challenges gaining a foothold in the marketplace.
The industry's financial performance also strengthened. Aggregate revenue among FINRA-registered firms reached $776.8 billion in 2025, up from $722.3 billion in 2024 and nearly double the $398.5 billion reported in 2021.
At the same time, pre-tax net income rose to $115 billion, the highest level recorded during the five-year period covered by FINRA's data. Because expenses increased at a slower pace than revenues, industry profit margins expanded during the year, InvestmentNews reports.
The latest figures paint a picture of a securities industry that continues to grow in workforce size and profitability while becoming increasingly concentrated among larger and more established firms, according to InvestmentNews.
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