Financial Industry : Learn About The Financial Industry

Let's learn a little bit about the financial industry. According to Wikinvest October 2011, "The financial services industry includes firms that deal with the management, investment, transfer, and lending of money. Though every company handles money in the course of doing business, financial institutions actually make money their business; rather than selling a line of physical products, they offer customers their fiscal expertise. The industry itself is very large, encompassing everything from small, local banks to the multinational investment banks regularly featured in news headlines."

According to Wikipedia (different website then Wikinvest), financial services is described,

as follows: "Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies, stock brokerages, investment funds and some government sponsored enterprises. As of 2004, the financial services industry represented 20% of the market capitalization of the S&P 500 in the United States." This quote is only a small portion of the definition retrieved October 26th, 2011. For the complete definition of Financial Services from Wikipedia, you can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_services.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority : FINRA is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. They oversee nearly 4,500 brokerage firms, 163,470 branch offices and 634,385 registered securities representatives. Their chief role is to protect investors by maintaining the fairness of the U.S. capital markets. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business—from registering and educating industry participants to examining securities firms; writing rules; enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. They also perform market regulation under contract for the major U.S. stock markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, NYSE Amex, The NASDAQ Stock Market and the International Securities Exchange.
U.S Securities and Exchange Commission : The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.

SEC Offices
Office of Acquisitions Office of Administrative Law Judges Office of Administrative Services Office of the Chief Accountant Office of the Chief Operating Officer Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office of the Ethics Counsel Office of Financial Management Office of FOIA, Records Management, and Security		Office of the General Counsel Office of Human Resources Office of Information Technology Office of Inspector General Office of Interactive Disclosure Office of International Affairs Office of Investor Education and Advocacy Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Office of Public Affairs Office of the Secretary

The world of investing is fascinating and complex, and it can be very fruitful. But unlike the banking world, where deposits are guaranteed by the federal government, stocks, bonds and other securities can lose value. There are no guarantees. That's why investing is not a spectator sport. By far the best way for investors to protect the money they put into the securities markets is to do research and ask questions.