Looking for a broker?  Make sure you check FINRA first.  FINRA, the  Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, has a tool to help you with your due diligence. It’s called BrokerCheck.  This database contains background information on about 1.3 million FINRA registered brokers and 17,400 FINRA registered brokerage firms.

• Use BrokerCheck to find out if your broker or investment adviser representative is licensed in your state to conduct business.
• Find out if they have been sanctioned by securities regulators for violations of investment-related regulations or statutes.
• Review credentials
• Check for customer disputes and disciplinary actions.

Looking for some background information on your favorite executive?  The Kirstein Library is here to help.  In this post I’ll highlight three.

Biography Resource Center:

Try searching our Biography Resource Center.  Below is a sample search on “Mark Zuckerberg”.  In addition to his bio you will also see links to news, magazines, and video content.

Credo Reference:

Another resource worth checking out is Credo Reference. Below is a sample screen shot for a search on “James Dimon.” This resource will pull biographical information from sources such as, 1000 CEOs, Who’s Who, Chambers, The Encyclopedia of the History of American Management, and The Capstone Encyclopaedia of Business among others.

Mergent Online:

Finally, Mergent Online is a great resource for executive data.  Below, I have searched by company name, selected the “Executives” tab and viewed “Key Officers.”

Clicking on “James Dimon” will give biographical information and compensation history.

Forbes:

Speaking of rich executives, if you’d like to see a some rankings, check out the following from Forbes:

• The World’s Most Powerful People
• The World’s Billionaires List
• The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women
• The Richest People in America