523999 Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities

Official definition

This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in acting as agents and/or brokers (except securities brokerages and commodity contracts brokerages) in buying or selling financial contracts and those providing financial investment services (except securities and commodity exchanges; portfolio management; investment advice; and trust, fiduciary, and custody services) on a fee or commission basis.

Examples Census gives

• Exchange clearinghouses, commodities or securities
• Stock quotation services
• Gas lease brokers' offices

Source: US Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS descriptions.

When to use a different code

Census classifies these close-sounding activities somewhere else. Businesses mainly engaged in:

• Investment banking, securities dealing, securities brokering, commodity contracts dealing, or commodity contracts brokering are classified in Industry Group 5231, Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage.
• Acting as principals or agents (i.e., brokers) in buying or selling virtual currency (cryptocurrency) are classified in Industry 523160, Commodity Contracts Intermediation.
• Acting as principals (except investment bankers, securities dealers, and commodity contracts dealers) in buying or selling financial contracts are classified in Industry 523910, Miscellaneous Intermediation.
• Furnishing physical or electronic marketplaces for the purpose of facilitating the buying and selling of securities and commodities are classified in Industry 523210, Securities and Commodity Exchanges.
• Managing the portfolio assets (i.e., funds) of others and/or providing customized investment advice are classified in Industry 523940, Portfolio Management and Investment Advice.
• Providing trust, fiduciary, and custody services to others are classified in U.S. Industry 523991, Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities.
• Financial transactions processing, reserve, and clearinghouse activities (except commodity or securities exchange services) are classified in Industry 522320, Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities.

Source: US Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS cross-references.

Activities listed under 523999

The Census index assigns these 15 activities to this code. If your business matches one, this is your code.

• Business start-up fundraising using a crowdfunding platform
• Clearinghouses, commodity exchange or securities exchange
• Deposit brokers
• Exchange clearinghouses, commodities or securities
• Gas lease brokers' offices
• Oil lease brokers' offices
• Protective committees, security holders
• Quotation services, securities
• Quotation services, stock
• Securities holders' protective services
• Securities transfer agencies
• Stock quotation services
• Stock transfer agencies
• Transfer agencies, securities
• Virtual currency trading exchange clearinghouses

Source: US Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS index file.

SBA size standard for 523999

To count as a small business for SBA loans and federal contracts under NAICS 523999, your business (including affiliates) must not exceed $47 million in average annual receipts. Check your business.

Source: SBA table of size standards, effective March 17, 2023.

Closest UK SIC 2007 codes

There is no official one-to-one link between NAICS and UK SIC. These codes share the same international class (ISIC Rev. 4: 6612, 6619), so treat them as a starting point and check the definition.

• 66120Security and commodity contracts dealing activitiesUK SIC
• 66190Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation n.e.c.UK SIC

Built from Census concordances 2022→2017 NAICS and 2017 NAICS→ISIC Rev. 4.

Similar codes to compare

• 523991Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities