Investors are increasingly distrustful of FINRA BrokerCheck reports, and it’s no surprise why. These reports are notoriously inadequate, riddled with omissions of critical information, and wide open to manipulation by shady brokers. Under the supposed watchful eye of the SEC, which oversees FINRA, this misleading system is allowed to fester, with the SEC seemingly apathetic to the glaring flaws. FINRA shamelessly prioritizes concise, watered-down reports over the comprehensive transparency investors desperately need to evaluate financial advisors, leaving them with unreliable scraps instead of real insights.

Let’s call this “balance” what it really is: a farce. By cherry-picking what it deems “relevant” and “appropriate,” FINRA delivers insufficient, untrustworthy disclosures that fail to protect investors. Instead, this rigged setup serves the interests of brokers and the industry, shielding them from accountability while leaving investors vulnerable. The SEC’s inaction only emboldens this broken system, proving that neither FINRA nor its overseer can be relied upon to prioritize the public over profit.