Dual Registration Hits Majority Among FINRA Reps in 2026 Snapshot
The U.S. broker-dealer industry added registered representatives for the fourth straight year in 2025 while the number of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member firms continued to contract, according to the FINRA 2026 Industry Snapshot, published Monday.
The registered representative population reached 639,723 in 2025, a 5% increase from 2021. FINRA said 40,000 to 45,000 people have entered the industry annually in recent years, reversing a period of contraction that began in 2015.
Firm count moved in the opposite direction. The number of FINRA member firms fell roughly 6% to 3,184 in 2025, with small firms accounting for most of the decline – dropping to 2,832 from 3,048. Mid-size firms grew to 197 from 185. Large firms held at roughly 155.
The contraction masks significant turnover at the membership level: 163 firms exited FINRA membership in 2025 while 98 new firms joined, all entering at the small-firm level. Average firm size, measured by affiliated registered representatives, has grown nearly 12% since 2021 to 203 representatives per firm.
FINRA attributed the concentration trend to competitive pressure, technology-driven scale efficiencies, regulatory costs, and succession planning dynamics. Total industry revenue reached $776.8 billion in 2025, up from $398.5 billion in 2021, with growth across all firm size categories.
Dual Registration Now the Majority Model
More than half of FINRA-registered representatives held dual registration as both registered representatives and investment adviser representatives as of year-end 2025: 331,802 individuals, or roughly 52% of the 639,723 registered rep population.
An additional 307,921 held broker-dealer-only registrations within the FINRA universe, while 94,562 investment adviser-only professionals are tracked separately and are not part of the FINRA registered rep count.
Net registration flows in 2025 reinforced the trend toward dual registration. During the year, 11,294 broker-dealer-only representatives added investment adviser registration. By contrast, 1,800 dual-registered representatives dropped to broker-dealer-only status, and 3,545 transitioned to investment adviser-only registration.
FINRA said the dual-registration trend suggests customers value access to both brokerage and investment advisory services through a single professional relationship.
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