Customer Accounts Flashcards
New Account Forms
which is an internal document used to compile basic information about customers for compliance purposes.
Patriot Act records
Keep records of the information used to identify the customer via customer identification programs (CIPs). Financial institutions use CIPs to verify the identity of customers who want to conduct financial transactions.
Verify that a customer doesn’t appear on any list of known terrorists or terrorist organizations. (The U.S. Treasury keeps this list.)
Street Name, or Numbered Account
A street name or numbered account is an account registered in the name of the broker–dealer with an ID number for the benefit of the custom
You need a written statement from the customer attesting to the ownership of the account. With the exception of margin accounts, a street name account may be changed by the customer to a regular account at any time. All margin accounts must be in street name.
Joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTWROS)
With this type of joint account, when a joint tenant named on the account dies, his portion of the account passes on to the surviving joint tenant.
Joint with tenants in common (JTIC):
With this type of account, when one tenant of the account dies, his portion of the account becomes part of his estate. JTICs are usually set up for two or more unrelated investors.
Trust Accounts
Trust accounts are managed by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another party.
Custodial Account
A custodial account is set up for a child who’s too young to have his or her own account. A custodian (adult) makes the investment decisions for the account.
There can only be one custodian and one minor per account. The minor is responsible for the taxes. (The minor’s Social Security number is registered for the account.) The account is registered in the name of the custodian for the benefit of the minor. (The custodian is responsible for endorsing all certificates.) The account can’t be held in street name (in the name of the broker–dealer with an ID number; see the earlier section
Because of the additional risk, securities can’t be traded on margin or sold short. Anyone may give a gift of cash or securities to the minor. The gift is irrevocable (can’t be refused by the custodian).
Discretionary Accounts
an investor can give you (the registered rep) the right to make trading decisions for the account. All discretionary accounts need a written power of attorney signed by the investor, which gives trading authorization to the registered rep.
Fiduciary
A fiduciary is anyone who can legally make decisions for another investor. Examples of fiduciaries are custodians (UGMA accounts), a registered rep having power of attorney, an executor of an estate, a trustee, and so on.
Corporate Accounts
Only incorporated businesses can open corporate accounts. If you’re opening a corporate account, you need to obtain the tax ID number of the corporation, which is similar to an individual’s Social Security number.
you also need a copy of the corporate charter (bylaws). The corporate charter has to state that the corporation is allowed to purchase securities on margin
Unincorporated Association
(sometimes called a voluntary organization) is a group of two or more individuals who form an organization for a specific purpose (in this case, investing).
Partnership Accounts
All partnerships must complete a partnership agreement, which the broker–dealer has to keep on file. The partnership agreement, like a corporate resolution, states who has trading authorization for the account so you know whom you’re supposed to be taking orders from.
Cash Account
When one of your clients is opening a cash account, it means that she must pay for each trade in full. It doesn’t mean that she has to drop off a suitcase full of cash; the trades are typically paid for via check or wire transfer. When a customer opens a cash account, she cannot purchase securities on margin.
Margin Accounts
you can borrow money from a broker–dealer to purchase securities or borrow the securities themselves. Margin accounts allow customers to buy more securities (or sell more securities short) from you (as a registered rep) than they otherwise would, thus leading to more money in your pocket (a greater commission).
Margin Agreement
The credit agreement discloses the terms for that borrowing, including the interest rate charged, the broker–dealer’s method of computation, and situations under which the interest rate may change.
Hypothecation Agreement
This agreement states that all the margined securities must be held in street name (in the name of the broker–dealer for the benefit of the customer). In addition, it allows the broker–dealer to use a portion of the customer’s margined securities as collateral for a bank loan (rehypothecation). The hypothecation agreement also allows the broker–dealer to sell securities from the account in the event that the customer’s equity falls below a certain level.
Loan Consent Form
The loan consent form gives permission to the broker–dealer to loan a customer’s margined securities to other investors or broker–dealers, typically for the short sale of securities.
Long Margin Account
the customer buys securities by coming up with a certain percentage of the purchase price of the securities (typically 50 percent) and borrowing the balance from the broker–dealer. These optimistic investors are hoping for a bull market, because they want to sell the securities sometime later for a profit.
Short Margin Account
an investor is borrowing securities to immediately sell in the market. The process sounds a bit backward, but the investor is selling things he doesn’t actually own yet. Ideally, for this bearish customer, the price of the security will decrease so the investor can purchase the shares in the market at a lower price and then return them to the lender.
Regulation T
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 gives the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) the authority to regulate the extension of credit to customers in the securities
Regulation T (Reg T) requires customers to deposit at least 50 percent of the current market value of the securities purchased on margin, and the balance is borrowed from the broker–dealer.
Margin Call
(also known as a Fed call, federal call, or Reg T call) is the broker–dealer’s demand for a customer to deposit money in a margin account when purchasing or shorting (selling short) securities. If a customer is buying securities on margin, the customer may deposit fully paid securities in lieu of cash to meet the margin call.
Opening a Margin Account
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) call for a minimum deposit of $2,000 or for the customers to pay for the securities in full.
Starting Long Margin Accounts
To open a long margin account, the customer is required to deposit Regulation T or $2,000, whichever is greater. The exception to this rule occurs when a customer is purchasing less than $2,000 worth of securities on margin.
Opening Short Margin Accounts
The minimum deposit for short accounts is fairly easy to remember. The $2,000 minimum required by the FINRA and NYSE applies to short margin accounts.
Telephone Act of 1991
The Telephone Act of 1991 does not apply to existing customers (customers who have executed a trade or had a security in the firm’s account in the previous 18 months) or calls from nonprofit organizations.
You can’t make calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time of the potential customer. You have to give your name, company name, company address, and phone number. If you get a potential customer who’s tired of being called, you should place that person on a do not call list. Each firm must maintain its own do not call list and have the U.S. government’s National Do Not Call List available. Although fax machines are becoming more obsolete, you may not send unsolicited ads by fax machine
Systematic Risk
Systematic (undiversifiable or market) risk is the risk that securities can decline due to political, social, or economic factors — changes in the economy, natural disasters, government policy, and so on.
Non-Systematic Risk
Nonsystematic (unsystematic, unique, or diversifiable) risk is more industry- or firm-specific.
Asset Allocation Funds
will rebalance the portfolio of securities held by the fund without needing to contact the shareholders.