Global Financial Markets Association

What Global Financial Markets Association does

The Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) is a non-profit trade association established in 2009 that serves as a coordinating umbrella for three of the world's leading regional capital markets trade associations: the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). GFMA represents the collective interests of the world's leading financial and capital market participants, advocating on cross-border regulatory issues, regional market developments that impact global capital flows, and policies that promote efficient cross-border capital movement. The organization operates from a Washington D.C. headquarters and has regional presence across London, Brussels, Frankfurt, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Singapore.

GFMA's core offerings are policy advocacy, research publications, and industry events rather than technology products. Its substantive product outputs include the April 2026 report 'The Role of Digital Money in Capital Markets' (produced with technical advisors Arktouros and Ashurst, covering tokenized deposits, deposit tokens, wholesale CBDCs, and stablecoins in securities settlement, repo, and derivatives margining) and the GFMA SmartBrief, a free daily financial industry newsletter delivered in partnership with SmartBrief. The organization also maintains a Global Foreign Exchange Division (GFXD) focused on FX market policy.

The business model is membership-based: GFMA is funded through dues from its three member trade associations, which themselves are funded by financial institution members across banking, securities, and asset management. Supplementary revenue is generated through events, conferences, and publications. Distribution occurs through the gfma.org website, member association channels, and the SmartBrief newsletter. Marketing channels include the website, newsletter, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and industry events. The organization has 1-10 employees and no disclosed external funding, acquisitions, or revenue figures.

Name

Global Financial Markets Association

Legal name

Global Financial Markets Association

Website

https://gfma.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GFMA is a non-profit trade association and umbrella alliance of AFME (Europe), ASIFMA (Asia), and SIFMA (North America), representing leading global financial and capital market participants through policy advocacy, research publications, and industry events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Trade Association

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

Keywords

• Trade association advocacy
• Capital markets policy
• Financial industry research
• Regulatory liaison services
• Global financial markets

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: GFMA operates as a membership-based trade association funded by its member organizations (AFME, ASIFMA, SIFMA) which represent financial institutions and capital market participants globally.
2. Events and conferences: The association organizes and hosts events, seminars, and conferences for industry participants, generating revenue through registration and participation fees.
3. Publications and research: GFMA publishes reports, correspondence, and research documents that may be available for purchase or distribution to members and the broader industry.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GFMA is a trade association that serves as the collective voice for the world's leading financial and capital market participants through an alliance of three regional associations: AFME (Europe), ASIFMA (Asia), and SIFMA (North America). It delivers policy advocacy, industry research publications, the GFMA SmartBrief daily newsletter, and a calendar of events and conferences to address cross-border regulatory and market structure issues. Its Global Foreign Exchange Division (GFXD) coordinates FX market policy and standards across jurisdictions.

Product overview

GFMA (Global Financial Markets Association) is a trade association that serves as a collective voice for the world's leading financial and capital market participants, representing three regional trade associations: AFME (Europe), ASIFMA (Asia), and SIFMA (North America). Rather than offering a commercial software product, GFMA provides advocacy, policy coordination, research publications, and industry events. Its primary offerings include the Digital Money in Capital Markets research report and the GFMA SmartBrief daily industry newsletter.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GFXD (Global Foreign Exchange Division): The Global Foreign Exchange Division of GFMA focusing on FX market policies, standards, and operations.

Products and services

• The Role of Digital Money in Capital Markets Report A comprehensive report examining the role of digital money — including tokenized deposits, deposit tokens, wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs), and stablecoins — in capital markets, with a focus on securities settlement, repo and securities finance, and derivatives margining. Aimed at financial institutions, regulators, and capital market participants.
• GFMA SmartBrief A free daily email newsletter delivering essential financial industry news to subscribers, operated in partnership with SmartBrief. Targeted at capital markets professionals, financial industry participants, and policy stakeholders.
• GFMA Industry Events and Conferences Industry events, seminars, and conferences organized for capital markets professionals, providing networking, policy discussions, and committee engagement for financial institution members and industry participants.
• Global Foreign Exchange Division (GFXD) The Global Foreign Exchange Division of GFMA, focused on FX market policies, standards, and operations across the alliance's three regional member associations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members of the three trade associations facilitate the vast majority of global capital markets activity and money movements that fuel them

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and advisory.

• Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFME is the European member of the GFMA alliance, representing financial markets in Europe. Located in London, Brussels, and Frankfurt. AFME operates cooperatively with other GFMA members to address issues with global implications for capital markets.
• Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASIFMA is the Asian member of the GFMA alliance, representing securities industry and financial markets in Asia. Located in Hong Kong and Singapore. ASIFMA works cooperatively with other GFMA members on global capital markets policy.
• Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIFMA is the North American member of the GFMA alliance. Located in New York and Washington. SIFMA operates cooperatively with other GFMA members to advocate on global capital markets issues.
• ArktourosadvisoryStrategic or Co-development PartnerArktouros served as technical advisor for the GFMA report on Digital Money in Capital Markets published in April 2026.
• AshurstadvisoryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAshurst served as technical advisor for the GFMA report on Digital Money in Capital Markets published in April 2026.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• FIA (Futures Industry Association): FIA is a leading global trade association for futures, options, and centrally cleared derivatives markets. Comparable to GFMA in serving institutional market participants with policy advocacy, research, and industry standards work.
• ASIFMA (Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association): ASIFMA is the Asian member of the GFMA alliance and a direct peer trade association serving Asia-Pacific capital markets. Provides similar advocacy, research, and event-driven services to financial institutions across the region.
• SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association): SIFMA is the North American member of the GFMA alliance and a direct peer trade association serving U.S. capital markets participants. Operates with a similar advocacy, research, and events model and serves an overlapping institutional member base.
• Institute of International Finance (IIF): IIF is a global association of financial institutions with a similar advocacy, policy research, and convening model. Comparable to GFMA in serving the world's leading banks and capital markets participants on cross-border regulatory issues.
• ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association): ISDA is a global trade association for derivatives market participants. Highly comparable as a global financial markets trade association producing policy research, standards (master agreements), and industry advocacy.
• Investment Company Institute (ICI): ICI is the leading trade association for investment funds globally. Operates with a similar U.S.-anchored, research-driven advocacy model addressing regulatory and capital markets issues affecting large financial institutions.
• AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe): AFME is the European member of the GFMA alliance and a direct peer trade association for European capital markets. Offers an analogous advocacy, policy research, and events portfolio across EU and UK financial institutions.
• IIFA (International Investment Funds Association): IIFA is a global association of investment fund associations. Comparable to GFMA as an umbrella-style organization that aggregates the policy voice of multiple regional financial industry associations.

Broad incumbents

• Bank for International Settlements (BIS): BIS is the bank for central banks, conducting research and policy work on global financial stability and capital markets. Comparable as a global institutional voice addressing the same cross-border regulatory themes GFMA engages with.
• Financial Stability Board (FSB): FSB is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. While not a trade association, it operates in the same cross-border financial regulatory space that GFMA engages with and shapes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gfmanews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gfma

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Global Financial Markets Association