Data Sources & Methodology

SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD)

Our primary data source is the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database. The SEC publishes bulk CSV files containing registration data for all SEC-registered investment advisers and their individual representatives.

  • Coverage: Approximately 700,000+ individual advisors and 35,000+ registered firms
  • Update frequency: Monthly (first week of each month)
  • Data includes: Registration status, CRD number, firm affiliations, office locations, assets under management, and number of accounts
  • Source: SEC IAPD Data Files

FINRA BrokerCheck

We enrich top advisors (by assets under management) with additional data from the FINRA BrokerCheck public API. This provides detailed professional information not available in the SEC bulk data.

  • Coverage: Top 1,000+ advisors enriched weekly
  • Update frequency: Weekly enrichment cycle
  • Data includes: Professional certifications, exams passed, years of experience, employment history, and disclosure details
  • Source: FINRA BrokerCheck

Data Processing

Our data pipeline includes the following steps:

  1. Download: Bulk CSV files are downloaded from the SEC IAPD system
  2. Parse: CSV records are parsed and validated for data quality
  3. Clean: Names are normalized, statuses are standardized, and duplicate records are merged
  4. Enrich: Top advisors are enriched with BrokerCheck data including certifications and disclosures
  5. Index: Cleaned data is indexed for fast searching and browsing

Data Quality

While we strive for accuracy, our data is only as current and complete as the underlying government sources. Please note:

  • There may be a delay between updates at the source and our database refresh
  • Some fields may be incomplete if not reported by the advisor or firm
  • BrokerCheck enrichment is limited to top advisors by AUM
  • We recommend verifying critical information directly with the SEC IAPD or FINRA BrokerCheck

Public Domain

All investment advisor data displayed on FinraDex is sourced from U.S. government public records and is in the public domain. There are no licensing restrictions on this data.