While the vast majority of the stockbrokers, brokerage firms, investment advisers and investment adviser firms are honest and reputable, it pays to remember that just
like many other professions, there are those individuals and firms who are not.

State and federal laws require brokers, advisers and firms to be registered or licensed. Canadian securities laws require anyone trading securities, or in the business of advising clients on securities, as well as the company they work for to be registered with their provincial or territorial securities commission, unless a registration exemption applies. 

State securities regulators should be the first call for an investor before you turn over any money to a broker or investment adviser. You can access extensive employment, disciplinary, and registration information about your stockbroker or investment adviser through your state securities regulator.

To verify a license with either Broker Check or the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, click here.
To find contact information for your state securities regulator, click here.

On the Web

U.S. Resources

• Working with a broker? Ask for all materials from the Central Registration Depository (CRD) about your prospective stockbroker. This computerized database contains licensing and registration information on more than 650,000 stockbrokers.
• Using an investment adviser? Ask for all materials from the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD). The IARD has information on more than 260,000 investment advisers.
• Search the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website for information on investment adviser representatives and firms registered with state securities regulators and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Information on brokers is available from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) BrokerCheck website.

Canadian Resources

• The National Registration Search is a web-based tool that provides information about individuals and firms registered with securities regulatory authorities in Canada.
  • Registration information from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is not included in the national registration search, but is available through the OSC Registrant List.
• Visit the Canadian Securities Administrator’s Registration page for more information on registration in Canada.