At SIFMA, our annual goals can always be directly linked back to our overarching strategic focus: promoting secure and efficient capital markets that serve investors.

SIFMA is a member-driven organization. On behalf of our industry’s nearly 1 million employees, we advocate on legislation, regulation and business policy, affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. As the Chair of our Board of Directors, Joe Sweeney, explains, today we’re at a key moment of innovation in terms of technology, advice, products and solutions, cybersecurity and privacy, and – critically – diversity and inclusion. The financial services industry is investing heavily in technology to serve the broad and diverse needs of today’s investor base, both retail and institutional. In the midst of great technological advances, there has never been a greater time for financial advice – for investors of all ages, income levels and backgrounds. The industry is also adapting its products and solutions to meet the unique needs of investors. We are deeply focused on cybersecurity and privacy. Underpinning all of this incredible transformation and innovation is our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Many say we are in a period of dramatic change and that is true. However, the markets are almost always in a state of dramatic change. We are a dynamic industry and we adapt. As 2019 draws to a close, our leadership – 2019 Board Chair James R. Allen, Vice Chairman of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and 2020 Board Chair Joseph E. Sweeney, President, Advice & Wealth Management, Products and Service Delivery for Ameriprise Financial, Inc. – sat down with me to outline recent milestones and priorities on behalf of our members in what is sure to be another climactic year ahead, including:

• Legislation and Regulation: The Volcker Rule, Inter-Affiliate Swaps, Capital and Liquidity Requirements, Repo Market Activity, Retirement Savings and the SECURE Act, MiFID II Research Provisions, Regulation Best Interest, the ETF Rule, Tax Reform, and Municipal Securities
• Operations & Technology: Cybersecurity, Privacy, and the Consolidated Audit Trail
• Wealth Management: Integrating Health, Well-Being, and Financial Planning
• And more

Listen: State of the Industry Briefing

At SIFMA’s annual briefing for members of the media, Joseph Sweeney of Ameriprise and Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. discussed the state of the markets and the industry.

Watch: A Conversation with SIFMA’s Leadership 

At SIFMA’s 2019 Annual Meeting, our 2019 and 2020 Board Chairs, Jim Allen of R.W. Baird and Joe Sweeney of Ameriprise, sat down with SIFMA President and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., to discuss SIFMA’s priorities on behalf of our members.

Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. is president and CEO of SIFMA, the voice of the nation’s securities industry. He is also CEO of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA), of which SIFMA is the U.S. regional member.

Related Resources

• Annual Report

  The 2020 Outlook: Trends in US Capital Markets

• Research

  US Economic Survey, End-Year 2019

• Analysis

  SIFMA Insights