Supervision - General B/D Activities Flashcards
What are the characteristics of an Equity Linked Note?
Debt instrument where the final payout at maturity is based, in part, on the the return of the underlying equity, which can be a single stock, a basket of stocks, or an index.
A typical ELN is principal protected - investor is guaranteed 100% of original amount invested. No interest during maturity. Final payout, in cash, is the amount of invested capital plus a portion of the the gain in the underlying equity.
Distressed debt
Defined as a corporate bond where the issue has filed for bankruptcy or appears likely to do so in the near future.
How often are members required to review fee-based accounts?
Periodically to determine whether they remain appropriate. Generally they are unsuitable unless the customer engages in at least a moderate amount of trading.
Customer Account Guarantees
A customer’s account may be guaranteed by another customer of the B/D
The account guarantee must be in writing
Guarantees of this nature are prohibited for pattern day traders
What is a pattern day trader?
A trader who executed 4 or more trades in a 5 business day period
What is the minimum equity requirement for a pattern day trader?
$25,000
Prime Brokerage Account characteristics
Customer selects one member firm (prime broker) to provide custody and financing of securities while other firms (executing brokers) handle all trades place by the customer
Prime brokerage customer must maintain a minimum of $500,000 of equity. The minimum net capital requirement is $1,500,000
The customer receives trade confirmations and customer account statements from the prime broker.
Research is not a reason or advantage to customer with prime brokerage accounts
FINRA - Monitoring Extension Requests - Clearing and Introducing Firms
FINRA requires clearing firms to file monthly reports within five business days of month end, indicating which of its introducing firms requested extensions that exceeded 2% of their total transactions for the month.
What happens when a customer buys and sells a stock in a cash account without fully paying for the buy side?
Account is automatically frozen - no additional purchases without cash on hand - meaning client can deposit full purchase price - and no sales of securities without prior deposit of the certificates.
The account will be unfrozen if funds to pay for the purchase arrive on or before the 5th business day following the trade date
How old can a list of borrowable securities be to remain valid?
24 hours
SEC Rule 15c 2-1 - Commingling of customers accounts and pledging
Customer’s securities can be commingled with those of other customers if all customers express their consent in writing.
The broker dealer can pledge these securities to a bank to obtain a loan, provided the loan does not exceed the amount the b/d loans to customer.
Customer securities may never be commingled with firm position. The firm may loan out customer margin securities if the customer has signed a loan consent agreement.
Minimum Capital Requirement - Market Maker - Stock Price > $5
$2,500 per security in which you make a market.
$100,000 minimum with a ceiling of $1 million
Minimum Capital Requirement - Market Maker - Stock Price < $5
$1,000 per security
$100,000 with a ceiling of $1 million
Minimum Capital Requirement - Firms Dealing Exclusively in Investment Company Securities
$5,000 for subscription orders only
$25,000 wire orders
Minimum Capital Requirement - Introducing Firms
$5,000 if the customer does not accept customer securities
$50,000 if a firm accepts customer securities
Allowable capital for minimum capital requirement calculation
net worth (common stock + retained earnings) and subordinated loans, including secured demand notes
Maximum aggregate indebtedness ratio for a first year firm
8:1
SIPC Coverage
Coverage under SIPC is up to $500,000 per separate customer. Of that total, SIPC covers no more than $250,000 in cash.
SIPC assessments are based on gross volume of securities business and will not be affected by how a member clears its business
Any customer claims that SIPC does not cover will result in the customer becoming a general (unsecured) creditor of the company.
Commodity futures contracts are not covered by SIPC.
Minimum capital requirements and definition - Dealer
If an introducing member or a firm engaged solely in the sale of investment company products executives more than 10 trades per year in its investment account, it is considered a dealer for net capital purposes. The minimum net capital requirement for a dealer is $100,000.
If a member reduces SIPC coverage, customers must be advised ____ days in advance
30 days
Subordinated loan agreements
All subordinated loan agreement must be filed with FINRA 10 business pays prior to the effective date of the cash loans. It may be longer if standard forms are not used.
Maximum AI : NC ratio - established firm.
An established firm cannot let its AI:NC ratio exceed 15:1. Otherwise it is in violation of the net capital rule.
SEC Rule 10b-17 - Record Date for Dividends
The SEC requires issues to notify the exchange or FINRA at least ____ blank days prior to the record date to have sufficient time to set and publish the ex date for cash dividends, stock dividends and stock splits.
10 days.
This notification is required for symbol or name changes, mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcy.
Prepayment of a subordinated loan.
To prepay a subordinated loan
- A firm needs prior approval from its designated enforcement agency
- The subordinate loan must have been outstanding for at least one year
- Prepayment causes it AI:NC ratio to exceed 10:1 or net capital falls below 120% of minimum
Introducing Firms - Acceptance of Checks
Both $5,000 and $50,000 introducing firms may accept checks made out to the clearing firm for prompt forwarding
NEITHER may accept checks made out in their name