2025 Capital Markets Outlook

Capital markets are crucial to our economy and the well-being of our fellow citizens. They drive growth, allocate risk, and support financial stability. By connecting the people and institutions in need of capital to those with money to invest, capital markets spur job creation and economic growth.

This 2025 Capital Markets Outlook contains our insights into the markets for the year ahead, including the industry’s viewpoints on critical policy issues and several helpful resources, all guided with one thing at top of mind – our clients.

As the voice of America’s securities industry, SIFMA represents hundreds of broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers whose clients include businesses and corporations, governments and municipalities, endowments and foundations, and individual investors. When our clients call, we can facilitate access to capital, provide high-quality advice, and offer products and services that help them achieve their long-term goals.

Our Clients: The End-Users of Capital Markets

• Businesses and Corporations: Raise capital and reinvest in the busines
• Governments and Municipalities: Finance infrastructure and public works
• Individual Investors: Save for life’s milestones and goals
• Endowments and Foundations: Invest donations to museums, churches, hospitals and colleges

At SIFMA, we believe vibrant and healthy capital markets are created by:

• Ensuring high standards of market integrity and investor protection;
• Enabling capital formation through savings and investment;
• Promoting financial literacy and a strong retail investor culture; and
• Calibrating supervision and regulation with innovation and growth.

SIFMA’s principal role is to advocate for effective and resilient capital markets. We do this by engaging lawmakers and regulators with our subject matter experts on legislative, regulatory and business policies. We also provide information, analysis and expertise for informed regulatory compliance; facilitate fair, orderly markets and efficient market operations through our role as a coordinating body; and serve as a spokesperson for the industry, utilizing our substantive research. Thousands gather through our committees, forums and roundtables, and participate in our leading executive education and events.

In 2024, SIFMA submitted more than 140 regulatory comment letters, studies and legislative testimony, and produced or commissioned over 40 research reports. We successfully led the effort to shorten the settlement cycle to T+1 and coordinated industry-wide exercises to protect against market disruptions and the ever-present threat of cyberattacks. We also coordinate incident response on behalf of the industry when such events occur. We continue to advocate on consequential issues for the markets and our members, with multiple and far- reaching regulatory agendas encompassing topics from the proposed Basel III Endgame reforms to the implementation of the Treasury Clearing mandate. All the while, we look to the future by fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and empowering the next generation with financial knowledge.