Financial Industry Employer
Problem Overview
Your account verification requires additional review because your employer is a bank, brokerage, insurance company, investment firm, or other financial institution. Working at a financial institution does not automatically make you a professional data user — but it does require us to look more closely at your actual job responsibilities before we can classify your account.
Why Financial Industry Employees Get Additional Review
Exchange regulations require Market Data to classify every subscriber as either a professional or non-professional data user. For most subscribers, a job title and employer are enough to make this determination. But at financial institutions, the same company can employ both professional and non-professional users depending on the role:
| Role | Classification | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio Manager | Professional | Makes investment decisions |
| Investment Adviser | Professional | Provides tailored investment advice to clients |
| Trader | Professional | Executes securities or derivatives trades |
| Research Analyst | Professional | Produces investment research that influences trading decisions |
| Software Developer (fin-tech) | Professional | Develops software that supports investment activities |
| Administrative Assistant | Non-Professional | Provides administrative support without engaging in investment activities |
| Customer Service Rep | Non-Professional | Handles inquiries without providing investment advice |
| Compliance Officer | Non-Professional | Ensures regulatory compliance but does not engage in investment decisions |
| HR Manager | Non-Professional | Manages human resources, not involved in investment activities |
| Accountant | Non-Professional | Handles financial records and reporting, not directly involved in investments |
Because we cannot determine your classification from your employer name alone, we need to understand what you actually do day-to-day.
How to Fix
Contact our support helpdesk and provide a brief description of your actual daily job responsibilities. Specifically, we need to know whether your role involves any of the following:
- Trading, executing, or managing securities, commodities, or derivatives
- Providing investment advice or recommendations to clients
- Managing investment portfolios or making investment decisions
- Producing research that influences trading or advisory decisions
- Developing software or systems that directly support investment activities
If your role does not involve any of the above — for example, if you work in IT, operations, HR, compliance, accounting, marketing, or administrative support — you will typically be classified as non-professional, even though your employer is a financial institution.
Supporting Documentation
To speed up the review, you can also provide any of the following:
- A link to your LinkedIn profile showing your current role and responsibilities
- A resume or CV that describes your job function
- A company directory listing or job description that outlines your responsibilities
What Determines Your Classification
Your classification is based on your job function, not your employer. The key question is whether your day-to-day work involves securities-related activities — not whether the company you work for is in financial services.
For example, a software developer at a social media company is non-professional, but a software developer at a fin-tech startup building trading tools is professional. The same logic applies within a bank: an HR manager is non-professional, but a relationship manager advising clients on investments is professional.
See Professional Status Policy for the full classification criteria, or read Professional Status Explained for a detailed guide with additional examples.
If You Are Classified as Professional
Professional subscribers never receive real-time exchange data on a self-service plan, no matter which exchange agreements they sign. Real-time access for professional use requires direct exchange licensing, which Market Data arranges individually. Contact our sales team to discuss it. Delayed / historical data access remains available on your current plan, depending on the data policies of each exchange.
Still Need Help?
If you are unsure how your role would be classified, contact our support helpdesk and describe your day-to-day responsibilities. Our support team will let you know what classification applies.
We typically respond within a few hours during market hours or within 1 business day outside of market hours.