U.S. securities regulators report that they have upgraded their system that provides investors with registration information on brokers and advisers.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it has added features to its BrokerCheck service, which aims to help investors more easily access broker-dealer and investment advisor registration information.
With the latest improvements, users now have: centralized access to licensing and registration information on current and former brokers and brokerage firms, and investment advisor representatives and investment advisor firms; the ability to search based on main office and branch locations, and by ZIP code radius; and, expanded educational content.
In February, FINRA issued a notice soliciting comments on ways to facilitate and increase investor use of BrokerCheck. It notes that the comment period ended on April 27 and FINRA is currently reviewing the 71 comments received.