Just curious. Everyone today seems to run credit checks and criminal background checks. Has anyone ever been denied an account at a brokerage firm (futures or stock) because of a felony or misdemeanor conviction or any crime? I have never seen a question on a brokerage application that asks about it, like I've seen on job applications. Just curious, for I have a relative who wants to apply for an account and is afraid of being rejected. Thanks for your input.
I dont think having the record will prohibit you from getting an account. When I was 16 my cousin was raped and the kid who did it's dad was the local DA so he got away with it. About 3 weeks after it happened another of my cousin's and I ran into him at a party and beat him up, he was in the hospital for 3 weeks. Of course his dad was not happy. I was 16 and charged as an adult for felony assault, attempted murder, heyham and a couple other things. I got lucky in that I was relatively popular in school (class president) and several teachers liked me and came to court and said what a great guy I was and how they could not imagine me ever doing something like this again, so in my case I did not get sent away or go to jail, but I did end up with the felony assault. Like I said, it was not an issue opening an account..it did however become a huge issue when I started to manage money for others and the need to be licensed comes up. I ended up spending a ton of money to have my record expunged, so its not there anymore and I was able to get on with things. But anyhow, back to the point of your question, as long as the felony did not involve fraud against a broker or something like that, they probably wont care and will let you open the account.
You could have a record and still get a series 7 license (albeit, after a length of time) so having a brokerage won't prohibit a "criminal" from getting an account, unless the crime in question was securities and or fraud related.
oh, the title of this thread is irresistable. like they used to say on the NYBOT, "most of the guys here are on work-release." yeah, ivy-league wannabes might thumb their noses at you, but I think the rest would just line up to take your money.