Unit 1 & 2 Flashcards
Cash Account
Basic investment account. Fed’s Regulation T requires customer to pay in full no later than two days for securities purchased.
The following can ONLY be cash accounts: IRAs and other personal retirement accounts, 401K and other corporate retirement accounts, custodial accounts - Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) account, Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA)
Margin Account
Investment account where the broker dealer lends money to the client to buy securities. Greater risk because borrowed money must be repaid. Leverage is beneficial when security’s price is moving up but can result in larger losses if the price goes down. Customers must meet minimum requirements to open a margin account.
fee-based account
Charges a single fee (fixed or percentage of assets in then account). Appropriate for investors who engage in moderate activity. Investors must be given a disclosure doc before opening this account. Reduces risk of churning.
margin
the minimum amount of equity an investor must deposit to buy securities. % of current MV
commission-based chargers
Investors pay per trade. Appropriate for low activity
churning
excessive trades to generate commissions and benefit the broker
reverse churning
broker moves low activity clients to fixed fee accounts
wrap-fee accounts
for firms that provide additional advisory services (asset allocation, portfolio management, execution, administration. Single fee account, typically a % of assets managed. Firms offering these typically are require to register as investment advisers in addition to broker dealers.
prime brokerage account
customer/institution has a primer broker (PB) who provides custody, trading and other services (lending, margin financing, trade processing, cash management, ops support) while executing brokers (EB) execute trades. PB and customer enter written agreements as does the prime broker and the EB. PB provides trade confirmations and account statements. EB is responsible for compliance of trading rules. Advantage - centralizes master account with multiple brokers, able to net margin requirements, better for active traders.
prime brokerage account
customer/institution has a primer broker (PB) who provides custody, trading and other services (lending, margin financing, trade processing, cash management, ops support) while executing brokers (EB) execute trades. PB and customer enter written agreements as does the prime broker and the EB. PB provides trade confirmations and account statements. EB is responsible for compliance of trading rules. Advantage - centralizes master account with multiple brokers, able to net margin requirements, better for active traders.
DVP; RVP
Delivery vs. Payment; Receipt vs. Payment. Agreement typically for institutional accounts where payment for bought securities is made to the seller’s agent and/or delivery of securities is made to the buyer’s agent in exchange for payment at time of settlement. Cash on delivery settlement
Day trader
buys and sells on same day. Members must provide a risk disclosure, approve the account for day trading.
Pattern day trader
someone who executes 4+ day trades in a 5 BD time period. Min equity requirement = 25,000
individual account
one owner who controls the investments and can request distributions of cash or securities. Suitability is based off that individual.
joint account
2+ adults are co-owners with some control of the account. must sign joint account agreement in addition to new account forms. Requires signature of all owners and check made out to all names. Owners are called tenants. must have suitability info for all tenants. Suitability based on group not individual. Must put client interests first
JTWROS
Joint tenants with rights of survivorship. dead tenant’s interests transfer to surviving tenant. Common for spouses. Equal ownership. Checks and distributions must be payable/endorsed to/by all parties. Can be TOD
TIC
Tenants in Common. Dead tenants fractional share goes to the tenants estate. Common for non-married family members/friends. Ownership can be unequal.Checks and distributions must be payable/endorsed to/by all parties. Cannot be TOD
TIC
Tenants in Common. Dead tenants fractional share goes to the tenants estate. Common for non-married family members/friends. Ownership can be unequal.
community property
differs state to state. Joint ownership of property acquires during marriage is assumed for married couples and would be divided in certain states. some states include rights of survivorship. Property acquired before marriage isn’t joint and there is an exemption for inherited property and gifts
custodial accounts
1 owner but 2 names on account. Custodian and beneficial owner. Custodian can: buy/sell securities and other assets, exercise rights/warrants, liquidate, hold, trade securities; can use to support minor but not costs associated with raising a child. A minor is not a legal person. Parents have no control unless they are custodian. Donor can act as custodian. Irrevocable. minor can be beneficiary on more than 1 account and custodian can serve as custodian on more than 1 account as long as each only benefits 1 minor. Cash accounts only. Minor can sue custodian.
UGMA
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act. Adopted by the Uniform Law Commission in 1956. Gifts of money and securities to minors. Limited to cash (bank deposits), stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities and insurance policies. Was widely replaced with UTMA in 1986. Only 1 state still has UGMA
UTMA
Uniform Transfer to Minors Act. Adopted by the Uniform Law Commission in 1986. More flexible - expands the types of property you can transfer to a minor.Although there are a few states that allow the custodial property to remain in an UTMA account until the minor reaches age 25, more than half of the states set the age of majority for UTMA at 21 instead of 18.
TOD
Transfer on Death. Upon pass all or some to 1 or more beneficiaries. no specific legal docs are needed. Beneficiary % can change. Avoids probate but not estate tax.
Sole proprietorship
Like individual account. gains or losses are that of the individual.
general partnership
unincorporated association of 2+ individuals. GP responsible for operations and debt. Easy to form and dissolve, not suited to large amounts of capital. P/L flow directly through to investors as passive income/loss for tax purposes. Avoids double taxing. Investment policy needs to consider collective objectives.
limited partnership
management and liability goes to GP and LP are passive and have liability limited.
LLC
Limited Liability Company. benefits of incorporation (limited liability)and tax advantage (flow through). LLC owners are members and not personally liable. suitability for all members. Unlimited # of members. Taxed once - no entity level
S Corporation
taxed like a partnership but limited liability. P/L passed directly to shareholders in proportion to their ownership. No more than 100 shareholders, no resident aliens, or more than 1 class of stock. suitability for all shareholders. Taxed once - no entity level
C Corporation
company is a separate entity from owners. preferred if lots of capital is needed. E&O shielded from personal liability for company’s debts/losses. Shareholders shielded from corporate creditors. income tax applies to entity not shareholder. Suitability only for company. Double taxed - distributions get taxes taken out at the entity and individual level when they get dividend.
- It is the C corporation where the owners contend with double taxation. The first tax is on the corporation’s earnings. After that, any dividends distributed to the shareholders are subject to tax.
new account form
record for each account with an individual customer. FINRA Rule 4512 requires: name, address, age, APs (if any), legal entity and name of authorized person(s); signature of partner, officer or manager accepting the account (customer does NOT sign); subject to trusted person contact rule - FINRA rule 2165 and contact info of that adult. SEC rule 17a-3 requires delivery of a copy of acct info within 30 days of opening & every 36 months thereafter. customers must verify and note any changes to info. Reasonable effort must also be made before the settlement of the initial transaction to get: tax ID or SS #, occupation, name/address of employer, if they are AP of another member (are they an insider?) but not needed to open the acct
CIP
Customer Identification Program. result of USA Patriot Act. Financial Inst and broker-dealers are required to: verify identity of any new customer (unexpired government issued ID), docs showing the entity like articles of incorporation, license, etc.; maintain records of info used to verify identity; does the person appear on OFAC as terrorists, specially designated nationals and blocked persons. prevent, detect and prosecute money laundering and terror financing. At a min. before opening an account the firm must obtain: name; DOB; address; SS# or tax ID; for non-US person at least 1+: taxpayer #, passport # and country, other gov issued doc. exemption for people waiting for SS#. CIP must have procedure for when firm cannot verify identity: when acct shouldn’t be opened, terms where customer can transact while BD verifies, when BD should close acct, when BD should file suspicious activity report
trusted contact person
rules 2165 and 4512 - AKA FINRA senior exploitation rule. Specified adult = age 65 or older or age or older who is impaired. Firm must make efforts to obtain info for trusted person. Firms can place temp holds (up to 55 business days) on acct
Reg S-P
Firm must provide privacy notices when acct is opened and annually. SEC to protect customer info (nonpublic personal info). Must provide reasonable opt-out in 30 day window (writing a letter is NOT reasonable). consumer only gets initial notice and customers get initial and ongoing notices.
POA
Power of Attorney. customer MUST file written authorization with BD giving another person access to acct.
Full POA
allows non-owner to: deposit or withdraw cash/securities and make investment decisions
Limited POA
AKA - limited trading authorization. allow non-owner to have some control. Doc specifies level of control. can enter buy/sell order but not withdrawal funds.
Durable POA
non-owner maintains power over the acct even if grantor is incapacitated. Upon death of grantor or durable POA the power is terminated. Orders enter after the time of death will not be accepted.
changes in acct name or designation
no change in acct names can be made unless the change is authorized by a qualified register principal designated by the member. Must be in writing and essential facts be documented and kept with customer records.
internal transfer
when moving money from one acct to another if to an acct where the the recipient isn’t a signatory, approval and documentation are needed
bulk transfer
BD can use a negative response letter to bulk move cash at NAV into a money market mutual fund. Limited to situations involving M&A of funds, changes of clearing members and exchanges of funds in sweep accts.
sweep acct
customer sells securities and proceeds are deposited to their acct. Cash is swept into a money market mutual fund where it earns income until it is withdrawn or or used to buy more securities
negative response letter
informs recipient of impending action and they must respond if they object. Do nothing = consent. Must include tabular comparison of nature and fees of each fund and comparative description of objectives and prospectus. Not activated until at least 30 days after the letter was mailed.
negative response letter
informs recipient of impending action and they must respond if they object. Do nothing = consent
tax-deferred
income tax on contribution amt is deferred to a later time, typically until withdrawal. tax on earnings is always deferred
qualified plan
employee sponsored plan: pension, 401K, 403b. contributions made with pre-tax dollars and earnings are tax deferred until withdrawal. Typically governed by ERISA
ERISA
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. regulates the establishment and management of corporate pension or retirement plans. Private sector plans