Fraud Tip of the Day - July 7
How to Investigate Your Stockbroker or Brokerage Firm
Finding out if a stockbroker or brokerage firm is trustworthy is the first step you should take before let them handle your investments.Have wondered how to check into a stockbroker or brokerage firm to determine whether they're trustworthy enough to handle your investments? Selecting an honest broker or securities firm is an important first step for any investor about to take the plunge and begin investing funds in the market. You'll want to know whether they're licensed, experienced, been disciplined, convicted of crimes, filed for bankruptcy or paid settlements. These are important questions to find answers to before allowing someone access to your funds. Another question on the minds of many investors is, "Where do I look to find this information?" The answer to this question and many more is the Central Registration Depository System.
The Central Registration Depository system ("CRD") is a source that you can turn to for this kind of information. The CRD is a computerized database that holds licensing and registration information on over 600,000 stockbrokers (also called registered representatives) and over 6,000 brokerage firms throughout the country. Every state securities regulator can access the CRD database.
In most cases, a stockbroker or any other person who wants to sell securities (for example, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.) must be licensed or registered to do so. Also, some states may require insurance agents who sell variable annuities or variable life policies to be licensed. Therefore, these individuals' records will be maintained on the CRD.
The CRD will tell you about your stockbroker's past, including:
- Employment history for the past 10 years
- Securities examination scores
- Licensing or registration status
- Disciplinary history
What the CRD can tell you:
As an investor, you can request a public report of background information on any stockbroker or brokerage firm. Depending on the state jurisdiction, this report can be obtained either free of charge or for a nominal fee. In addition to employment and examination history, the CRD report will contain the following types of securities- or commodities-related disciplinary history, if applicable:- Final disciplinary actions that have been taken by federal, state, and foreign securities regulators as well as self-regulatory organizations.
- Civil judgments and arbitration decisions disputes involving public customers.
- Criminal convictions or indictments against registered or licensed brokerage firms and their associated persons.
- Settlements of $10,000 or more among the parties to arbitrations, civil suits, and customer complaints.
- Employment terminations after allegations were made involving violations of investment-related statutes or rules, fraud, theft, or failure to supervise investment-related activities.
- Bankruptcies filed within the last 10 years and outstanding liens and judgments.
- Pending disciplinary actions taken by industry regulators.
- Pending arbitrations and civil proceedings.
- Pending written complaints alleging sales practice violations and compensatory damages of $5,000 or more.
You can also contact the NASD at (800) 289-9999. However, the NASD does not report certain types of information that may be available through your state securities regulator.
This information is easy to obtain and the securities regulators want you to make informed decisions prior to investing your hard-earned dollars. A vast majority of the stockbrokers and brokerage firms are honest and reputable. However, like many professions, there are those individuals and firms who are not. One phone call may save you from sending your money to a bad broker or disreputable brokerage firm.
