How to Buy Fannie Mae Stock (FNMA) & What Investors Should Understand First

How to buy Fannie Mae stock directly

Since Fannie Mae is still a publicly traded company, anyone can buy shares of the mortgage financier. However, because it no longer trades on a major stock market exchange, you'd need to have an account with a broker or trading platform that allows trading shares listed on the OTC markets.

For those interested in becoming a shareholder, this step-by-step guide will show you how to invest in stocks:

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Fund your account: Transfer money so you’re ready to invest.
3. Search for Fannie Mae: Enter the ticker symbol "FNMA" into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
4. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
5. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
6. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
7. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

Should you invest in Fannie Mae?

Buying Fannie Mae stock isn’t the same as investing in a typical public company. Because the federal government controls the business and holds warrants for up to 80% of its shares, shareholder upside is limited unless conservatorship ends.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

Reasons some investors consider it

• You believe the federal government will eventually release Fannie Mae from conservatorship
• You see it as a speculative affordable-housing or mortgage finance play
• You want exposure to U.S. housing policy reform

Reasons to be cautious

• The FHFA controls management decisions, not shareholders
• The government receives most of the benefits through preferred shares
• Lawmakers haven’t signaled a timeline for ending conservatorship
• There are simpler, lower-risk ways to invest in mortgages or housing

Given these factors, Fannie Mae is unlikely to be an appealing investment. It probably won't be a compelling investment opportunity until it is in a position where the FHFA can end its conservatorship of the company. There are many better ways to invest in real estate these days than Fannie Mae.

Is Fannie Mae profitable?

Fannie Mae lost billions of dollars on its investment portfolios and MBS guarantees during the financial crisis, forcing the government to step in to provide additional financial support. The company has steadily climbed out of that big hole, returning to profitability in 2012. By 2014, it repaid all the money it received and has since poured billions of dollars into the U.S. Treasury.

The company has remained profitable over the past decade. It reported $3.7 billion of net income in the first quarter of 2025. That was down from $4.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 and from $4.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Fannie Mae's growing income increased its net worth to $98.3 billion, a significant rise from $47.4 billion in 2021.

The company's strong profitability enabled it to continue supporting the mortgage market. It provided $76 billion of liquidity to the mortgage market in the first quarter of 2025 by purchasing and refinancing loans backed by single-family homes and multifamily rental properties.

Does Fannie Mae pay a dividend?

Fannie Mae no longer pays quarterly dividends to its investors. The company suspended its dividend in 2008 when the government put it under the conservatorship of the FHFA.

However, the company makes preferred dividend payments to the U.S. government, which has a senior preferred stock position in the company. It retains all the earnings that it doesn't pay to the government to provide additional liquidity to the mortgage market.

How to invest in Fannie Mae through ETFs

You won’t find funds that own Fannie Mae stock directly -- exchange-traded funds (ETFs) generally don’t include FNMA because it trades OTC and isn’t part of major indexes.

But you can use ETFs to invest in the mortgage market more broadly, including securities backed by Fannie Mae loans. These give you exposure to similar themes with far less risk.

Examples include:

ETFs may be a more realistic path for most investors who want exposure without taking on Fannie Mae’s policy risk.

Will Fannie Mae stock split?

Fannie Mae didn't have an upcoming stock split as of mid-2025. Given its low share price (around $6.50 a share in mid-2025), a reverse stock split is more likely in the company's future. That probably wouldn't happen until it's no longer under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The bottom line

Fannie Mae has provided liquidity to the housing market since the Great Depression. Although the company lost billions of dollars during the Great Recession, it has recovered thanks to the government's support, which placed it under the conservatorship of the FHFA, where it remains today.

However, even though it's still a publicly traded company and very profitable, investors have better options than Fannie Mae since it's a government-controlled entity. Those who really want to invest in the mortgage finance industry could consider an ETF focused on securities backed by the company instead.

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