Capital is critical to corporations for running day-to-day business operations or for various business purposes. For instance, earlier stage companies need additional capital to grow to the next stage in the business life cycle. Or companies may need capital to expand organically or via acquisition, whether it be for product or regional diversification. Individuals or companies – whether at the startup level or an established firm – need capital to turn ideas into usable innovations and often new, sustainable enterprises. Governments need capital to operate their country, state, or city, as well as invest in infrastructure projects such as bridges, roadways, or schools. Therefore, capital is an integral component supporting job creation, economic development, and prosperity, and plays a crucial role in a country’s economy.

Capital markets facilitate the transfer of capital from those seeking a return (investors) to those who need capital to grow their enterprises (issuers). Capital markets, put simply, are the way we connect providers of capital with users of capital. These relationships are facilitated by financial institution intermediaries, which play a critical role in making capital markets work. Efficient capital markets allow capital users to receive lower cost funding over time while allowing investors to identify appropriate opportunities to deploy their capital.

The SIFMA Capital Markets Fact Book is an annual reference containing comprehensive data on the capital markets, investor participation, savings and investment, and securities industry.

 

 

Fact Book Highlights

Section 1 – Global Capital Markets

Global fixed income markets outstanding increased 2.4% Y/Y to $145.1 trillion in 2024, while global long-term fixed income issuance decreased 1.9% to $27.4 trillion.

Global equity market capitalization increased 8.7% Y/Y to $126.7 trillion in 2024, as global equity issuance increased to $504.8 billion, +21.5% Y/Y.

Foreign gross activity in U.S. securities increased to $134.7 trillion, +33.8% Y/Y in 2024.

Section 2 – U.S. Capital Markets

In 2024, long-term fixed income issuance increased by 26.0% Y/Y to $10.4 trillion. U.S. Treasury securities (UST) issuance was $4.7 trillion, +32.8% Y/Y. Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuance increased 21.6% Y/Y to $1.6 trillion, while corporate bond issuance increased 30.6% Y/Y to $2.0 trillion. Federal agency securities increased 0.6% Y/Y to $1.3 trillion. Municipal bond (munis) issuance increased 33.2% Y/Y to $513.6 billion, and asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance increased 43.3% Y/Y to $388.1 billion.

Total equity issuance (excluding SPACs) was $222.9 billion in 2024, +60.9% Y/Y.1 Initial public offering (IPO) deal value was $31.4 billion, +55.9% Y/Y. Secondary offerings, or follow-ons, totaled $169.8 billion, +59.2% Y/Y. Announced U.S. merger and acquisition (M&A) deal value totaled $1.6 trillion in 2024, +9.9% Y/Y, while the value of completed M&A deals decreased 2.8% Y/Y to $1.4 trillion.

U.S. stock markets – in terms of index prices – continued to rise in 2024, closing 2024 at:

• S&P 500 5,881.63, +23.3% Y/Y
• Nasdaq Composite 19,310.79, +28.6% Y/Y
• Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) 42,544.22, +12.9% Y/Y
• Russell 2000 2,230.16, +10.0% Y/Y

The average daily trading volume for equities in 2024 was 12.2 billion shares, +24% Y/Y.

Section 3 – U.S. Investor Participation

According to the latest Federal Reserve survey, 58.0% of households own equities, +5.3 pps from the prior survey. In 2024, the value of U.S. households’ liquid financial assets increased 14.1% Y/Y to $72.3 trillion. The breakout of liquid financial assets held by U.S. households was:

• Equities 54.5%
• Mutual funds 17.1%
• Deposits (bank deposits and CDs) 13.7%
• Bonds (UST, agency, munis, and corporates) 8.2%
• Money market funds 6.5%

Section 4 – Savings & Investment

The total value of U.S. retirement assets increased 8.5% Y/Y to $49.6 trillion in 2024. Total private pension assets (defined benefit and contribution plans) were $13.6 trillion, +9.1% Y/Y, and assets held in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) increased 13.3% Y/Y to $17.0 trillion. The breakout of total U.S. retirement assets was:

• IRAs 34.3%
• Government pension assets (federal, state, and local) 29.2%
• Private pensions 27.5%
• Annuities 9.0%

Section 5 – U.S. Securities Industry

The number of FINRA registered broker-dealers decreased 1.5% Y/Y to 3,249 in 2024. Gross revenues for FINRA registered broker-dealers totaled $641.0 billion, +5.9% Y/Y, while total expenses increased 2.4% Y/Y to $565.2 billion. As such, pre-tax net income was $75.8 billion in 2024, +41.3% Y/Y.

National securities industry employment reached 1,135,500 jobs in 2024, +1.6% Y/Y.

About the Report

The SIFMA Capital Markets Fact Book is an annual reference containing comprehensive data on the capital markets, investor participation, savings and investment, and securities industry. The Fact Book amasses data from dozens of sources into a single, easily accessible reference tool to analyze key industry statistics.

Credits

SIFMA Research

Justyna Romulus, Senior Research Associate
Matthew Paluzzi, Research Associate

Downloads

• 2025 Capital Markets Fact Book

• Data & Statistics

  2025 Capital Markets Fact Book - Data Tables

Historical Fact Books

• 2024 Fact Book

• 2023 Fact Book

• 2022 Fact Book

• 2021 Fact Book