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Brokerage accounts allow investors to buy and sell numerous types of investments. When opening a brokerage account, investors have two main options: a cash account or a margin account. The difference between them is how and when you pay for your investments.
As the name suggests, when you buy securities with a cash account, you must do so using cash, paying for the purchase in full. If you want to buy $1,000 worth of stock, you must have $1,000 in cash in your account before your buy order settles, which is generally one day after you place the order.
A margin account allows you to borrow money from a brokerage firm to buy securities. This is also the only type of account in which investors can engage in short selling. In a margin account, you deposit a portion of the purchase price of the security in the account and borrow the rest from the firm. There are a number of noteworthy risks that come with investing on margin, so be sure to read more about margin accounts before you proceed.
If you already have a brokerage account but aren't sure which type of account you have, contact your firm. Regardless of your account type, always read your brokerage account statements and review them carefully for accuracy.
Opening an account with a brokerage firm doesn’t take long, but it does require a few more steps than, say, opening a bank account. Once you select a brokerage firm, the firm must obtain certain information about you to open your account. If the firm is going to make investment recommendations to you, it will use this information to determine the type of investments that may be in your best interest.
Firms will ask for your age, employment status, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment experience and objectives, investment time horizon, liquidity needs and tolerance for risk. They’ll also ask for your Social Security or other tax identification number because, like banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, brokerage firms must report to the Internal Revenue Service the income you earn on your investments. In addition, under the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, financial institutions may use your Social Security number, as well as your driver’s license, passport information or information from other government-issued identification, to verify your identity to help prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
Note that the terms used to describe investment objectives often vary across firms and new account applications. If you don't understand the distinctions among the terms, request more explanation or examples.
If you use an online brokerage firm or mobile platform, this information-gathering likely won’t involve an actual financial professional. It’s important that you be honest with your answers. If you lack investment experience, or if you truly can’t afford to lose money, don’t be afraid to say so.
Your new account application may come with other documents, such as a "Customer Agreement," "Terms and Conditions" or the like. These documents, along with applicable state and federal laws and SEC and FINRA rules, govern your customer relationship with the firm, so it’s a good idea to read them.
Brokerage account fees vary, as do the products and services a firm offers. You can learn a lot about a firm’s services and other key information by reading its Customer Relationship Summary, or Form CRS for short, which you should receive before or at the time you open your new account.
Once you open your account, you’ll need to make a couple of additional decisions.
How do you want to manage your uninvested cash? Sometimes there’s cash in your account that hasn't been invested, such as money you just deposited or cash dividends or interest you received. Many firms give you choices on what to do with uninvested cash, including participating in the firm’s cash management program or “cash sweep” program. These types of programs offer different benefits and risks, including different interest rates and insurance coverage. Be sure to find out from your brokerage firm what your choices are and what fees, if any, you have to pay.
Who will make the final decisions for your account? You’ll have final say on investment decisions in your account unless you give "discretionary authority" in writing to another person, such as your financial professional. With discretionary authority, this person may invest your money without consulting you about the price, amount or type of security or the timing of the trades.
Some firms allow you to indicate who has discretionary authority over the account directly on the new account application, while others require separate documentation. There may be other types of authority that you can provide over your account, including a power of attorney and authorized trading privileges. Make sure you think through the risks involved in allowing someone else to make decisions about your money.
A customer who purchases securities may pay for the securities in full or may borrow part of the purchase price from their securities firm. If the customer chooses to borrow funds from a firm, the customer must open a margin account with the firm.
The portion of the purchase price that the customer must deposit is called margin and is the customer’s initial equity in the account. The loan from the firm is secured by the securities that are purchased by the customer. A customer may also enter into a short sale through a margin account, which involves the customer borrowing stock from a firm in order to sell it, hoping that the price will decline. Customers generally use margin to leverage their investments and increase their purchasing power. At the same time, customers who trade securities on margin incur the potential for higher losses.
The terms under which firms can extend credit for securities transactions are governed by federal regulation and by the rules of FINRA and the securities exchanges. Some securities cannot be purchased on margin, which means they must be paid for in full using available loan value in the margin account, or the customer must deposit 100 percent of the purchase price.
In general, under Federal Reserve Board Regulation T, firms can lend a customer up to 50 percent of the total purchase price of a stock for new, or initial, purchases. Assuming the customer doesn’t already have cash or other equity in the account to cover their share of the purchase price, the customer will likely receive a margin call from the firm. As a result of the margin call, the customer will be required to deposit the other 50 percent of the purchase price. For example, if the customer purchases $10,000 of stock, the firm loans the customer $5,000 and the customer pays the other $5,000.
FINRA rules supplement the requirements of Regulation T by placing "maintenance" margin requirements on customer accounts. Under these rules, as a general matter, the customer’s equity in the account must not fall below 25 percent of the current market value of the securities in the account. Otherwise, the customer may be required to deposit more funds or securities in order to maintain the equity at the 25 percent level. The failure to do so may cause the firm to force the sale of—or liquidate—the securities in the customer’s account in order to bring the account’s equity back up to the required level.
Margin Transaction—Example
Day 1: You buy $100,000 of margin stocks.
Day 2: The market value of the securities loses $40,000, falling to $60,000.
Consequence: Since the required equity is $15,000, your firm will likely issue a maintenance margin call for $5,000 ($15,000 less existing equity of $10,000). If so, and if you fail to meet the margin call by the time and date specified by the firm, the firm could liquidate $20,000 of securities—$5,000 divided by 25 percent in order to meet the maintenance margin call.
Tip: To estimate the potential loss in market value before incurring a maintenance call, use this formula:
Current Maintenance Excess ÷ (1.00 - maintenance requirement percentage)
On Day 1 in the example above, the securities can lose $33,337 in value before incurring a margin call:
$25,000 ÷ (1.00 – 0.25) = $33,337
Brokerage firms have the right to set their own maintenance margin requirements—often called "house" requirements—as long as they’re more stringent than the margin requirements under FINRA rules. These enhanced requirements can apply broadly or to particular stocks. For example, firms can raise their maintenance margin requirements for specific volatile stocks to ensure there are sufficient funds in their customers' accounts to cover large price swings.
These changes in firm policy often take effect immediately and may result in the issuance of a maintenance margin call. Again, a customer's failure to satisfy the call may cause the firm to liquidate a portion of (or in certain circumstances all of) the customer's account.
If you decide to trade stocks in a margin account, carefully review the margin agreement provided by your brokerage firm. A firm charges interest for the money it lends its customers to purchase securities on margin, and you need to understand the additional charges you may incur by opening a margin account.
Your firm is required to provide written disclosure of the terms of the loan, including the rate of interest and the method for computing interest. Your firm must also provide periodic disclosures regarding transactions in your account and the interest charges.
Be aware of the following realities before you trade on margin:
A day trade occurs when you buy and sell (or sell and buy) the same security in a margin account on the same day. Specific margin requirements apply to day trading in any security, including options. If you actively trade stocks, learn about day trading.
If your margin account has a debit balance (representing a loan of money from your brokerage firm to you or for your benefit), then your brokerage firm generally is permitted to use securities in your margin account that are worth up to 140% of the debit balance. Among other uses, your brokerage firm can pledge those securities as collateral for a loan, use them to make delivery on short sales by your brokerage firm or other customers, or lend them to third parties who can use them to make deliveries on short sales or for other legal purposes.
Your brokerage firm is required to obtain your permission before lending your securities or commingling your securities with other customer securities as collateral for a loan. (These permissions are generally included as standard terms in your margin account agreement, and your brokerage firm may require you to close your margin account if you revoke them.) Your brokerage firm is also required to separate customer securities pledged as collateral for a loan from any non-customer securities and is prohibited from subjecting customer securities to liens for an amount exceeding the aggregate amount that your brokerage firms’ customers owe to your brokerage firm.
Finally, your brokerage firm must make periodic computations to determine how much money it’s holding that’s either customer money or obtained from the use of customer securities (including amounts borrowed against customer securities and funds raised from loans of customer securities). If this amount exceeds the amount that your brokerage firm is owed by customers or by other broker-dealers relating to customer transactions, your brokerage firm must deposit the excess into a special reserve bank account for the exclusive benefit of customers.
If you don’t want your brokerage firm to use your securities, you can pay off your debit balance or instruct your brokerage firm to transfer securities into your cash account. (If your margin account has a debit balance or a short position, your brokerage firm may require you to pay off that debit balance or deposit other margin before transferring securities to your cash account.) You may also need to terminate any agreement under which your brokerage firm is permitted to borrow fully paid or excess margin securities from you (commonly referred to as a “fully paid lending” agreement or program).
With a margin account, you can borrow funds to purchase securities; with a cash account, you cannot. With a cash account, you’re expected to pay the full amount for all securities purchased by the settlement date—which, for most securities, including options, means paying for them one day after you place an order to buy.
The name "cash account" causes confusion for some investors who think only cash can be held in the account. But cash accounts can hold a wide range of stocks, bonds, mutual and exchange-traded funds, and other securities—as well as cash. For example, you might have $5,000 in cash and $10,000 in stock in your cash account.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board's Regulation T governs how you use your cash account to purchase securities. Importantly, under Regulation T, you can buy securities in a cash account provided that you have sufficient funds in the account, or if your brokerage firm accepts in good faith that you’ll promptly make full cash payment for the security. Your brokerage firm must comply with Regulation T and can take action, such as putting restrictions on your ability to trade, if it determines that you incur a Regulation T violation.
Once you pay in full for securities in your cash account, those securities are considered “fully paid securities,” and your brokerage firm is required to promptly obtain, and thereafter maintain, possession or control of them. Among other things, this means that:
Note that if you enter into an agreement permitting your brokerage firm to borrow fully paid or excess margin securities from you (commonly referred to as a “fully paid lending” agreement or program), the possession or control obligation described above will not apply to securities borrowed from you under that agreement. In other words, if you agree to lend fully paid securities to your brokerage firm, the firm may use those securities.
If you want to be sure that your brokerage firm obtains and maintains possession or control of your fully paid securities, you should terminate any fully paid lending agreement with your brokerage firm.
Your financial firm may request that you give them the name and contact information of a “trusted contact.” While it’s not mandatory that you do so, FINRA, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and staff from the SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy urge you to consider providing the name of someone you trust as a contact on your accounts.
A trusted contact is a person you authorize your financial firm to contact in limited circumstances, such as if there’s a concern about activity in your account and they’ve been unable to get in touch with you.
A trusted contact may be a family member, attorney, accountant or another third-party whom you believe would respect your privacy and know how to handle the responsibility. You may establish more than one trusted contact.
We suggest a trusted contact for anyone who has an investment account.
Among other things, having one or more trusted contacts provides another layer of safety on your account and puts your financial firm in a better position to help keep your account safe.
Naming someone as a trusted contact does not give that person any authority to act on your behalf, execute transactions or engage in activity in your account.
Maybe you’re traveling. Maybe you‘ve been displaced by a natural disaster. Maybe there’s a concern about fraud. Or maybe you’re having a health issue. A trusted contact can help your firm connect with you.
A trusted contact may be asked to confirm your current contact information, health status or the identity of any legal guardian, executor, trustee or holder of a power of attorney. U.S. broker-dealers are required to provide and other financial firms may provide a written disclosure that lays out these details.
Designation as a trusted contact doesn’t provide the designated person with authority to make transactions in your account and doesn’t make that person a power of attorney, legal guardian, trustee or executor.
By designating a trusted contact, you’re authorizing the firm to contact someone you trust and disclose information about your account only in limited circumstances. A firm may only disclose reasonable categories of information with a trusted contact, including information that will assist the firm in administering the customer’s account.
Unless separately authorized, a trusted contact:
A trusted contact is simply someone who can help your financial firm help you, if needed.
You can contact your financial firm or investment professional and ask to add a trusted contact to your account at any time! You can also ask your financial firm to change or update your trusted contact information at any time.
You may be asked to add a trusted contact when you log on to your investment account online. Your financial firm may send notices to you, via email or regular mail, that include instructions for adding a trusted contact to your account. Before clicking on any link in an email notice about a trusted contact, make sure you verify that your firm sent the email.
If you decide to name a trusted contact, you might want to reach out to them in advance to let them know.
If you haven’t yet named a trusted contact, add one today!
SEC Investor Bulletin: Please Consider Adding a Trusted Contact to Your Account
NASAA: Serve Our Seniors Website
FAQ Regarding FINRA Rules Relating to Financial Exploitation of Senior Investors
FINRA News: FINRA, NASAA and SEC OIEA Urge Investors to Establish a Trusted Con…
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There may come a time when you want to transfer your securities accounts between broker-dealers. If so, here’s what you need to know.
Most customer accounts are transferred between broker-dealers through an automated process. The National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) operates the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) to facilitate the transfer of a customer account from one broker-dealer to another. Transfers involving the most common assets—for example, cash, stocks and bonds of domestic companies and listed options—are readily transferable through ACATS.
The account transfer process begins by completing a Transfer Initiation Form (TIF) and sending it to the firm to which you want to transfer your account. The firm to which you plan to transfer the account can provide the form to facilitate the transfer. The new firm is called the "receiving firm." Once the receiving firm receives the TIF, it begins the transfer process by communicating with the current or "delivering firm" via ACATS.
Once the transfer request is validated, the delivering firm will send a list of the assets in the account to the receiving firm via ACATS. The receiving firm will review the list of assets to decide whether it wishes to accept the transfer of the account.
Note: The receiving firm isn’t required to accept the transfer of an account. If a transfer isn’t accepted, it may be because there are certain assets in the account that are nontransferable, such as a third-party fund or product for which the receiving firm doesn’t have a selling agreement or a proprietary product of the delivering firm. Firms are required to notify customers of any nontransferable assets and to provide alternatives for disposition.
The most common reason for declining the transfer of an account is the new firm’s credit policies. For example, the new firm may decide not to accept the account due to the quality of securities supporting a margin loan or because the account does not meet its minimum equity requirements.
Once the customer account information is properly matched and the receiving firm decides to accept the account, the delivering firm will take approximately three days to move the assets to the new firm. This is called the delivery process. In total, the validation process and delivery process generally take about six days to complete.
Transfers where the delivering entity is not a broker-dealer (for example, a bank, credit union or mutual fund) generally take more time. In addition, transfers of accounts requiring a custodian, like an individual retirement account (IRA) or a custodial account for a minor child, may also take additional time.
Here are a few things you can do to ensure a smooth transfer of accounts from one brokerage firm to another:
And keep the following in mind: Buying and selling securities during the account transfer process often complicates and delays the transfer. Some firms may even "freeze" an account that is in the process of being transferred, meaning that no trades will be permitted until the transfer is complete. It’s often best to avoid trading during the transfer process.
Sometimes overlooked in estate management is the transfer of securities from a brokerage account upon the death of the account holder. Planning ahead can smooth the transfer process a great deal, making it more efficient and trouble-free for brokerage account holders and their heirs and beneficiaries.
Though the idea might cause some anxiety, the closure of a brokerage firm is usually a smooth process for customers. Multiple safeguards exist to protect customer assets, and in almost all cases, accounts are transferred in an orderly fashion to another brokerage firm.
