Hi All, I am switching to lightspeed which uses Lime Brokerage. As I am transferring a sizable chunk of money (relative to me) and have previously been with much bigger , wanted to know if anyone has dealt with a broker going under or out of business and losing all their money? Maybe a smaller specialist instead of the usual big ones like Schwab, Fidelity, TD Ameri... Is there any way to prepare for / avoid this?
I lost money with pfg way back then eventualky i got a check but took forever now I stick with the big ones for that reason
Thanks, Lightspeed has SIPC and FINRA links/verifications on their page so i assume by filling in the paperwork, there's nothing else I need to do/apply for if my account is under 500k?
Confirm with your broker. However at least according to what I've read 500k is the upper limit of what is covered. I'd imagine, just like FDIC insurance, if you're under that you're fine. The question you should be asking is "how fast will I be made whole?" For that, I have no answer.
Good morning thyrus-When you open an account with us, your account will custody and clear at Wedbush Securities. https://www.wedbush.com/financial-statements/ with Lime Brokerage LLC as your broker and single point of contact. Wedbush provides excess Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) coverage for each client account carried by Wedbush on behalf of Lime Brokerage LLC. Each account is covered up to $25,500,000 at no charge. SIPC provides coverage up to $500,000, of which a maximum of $250,000 applies to cash credit balances. In addition to the SIPC coverage, Wedbush has purchased from Lloyd’s of London an excess SIPC bond that provides additional coverage for up to $25,000,000 in cash and securities for each client account, subject to an aggregate loss limit of $100,000,000. This bond covers cash credit balances to a maximum of $900,000 for a total of $1,150,000 in cash balances. Neither SIPC coverage, nor the coverage of excess of that provided by SIPC, covers a decline in the value of a customer’s assets due to market loss. For further information about SIPC, please view the organization’s website: www.sipc.org.
I lost money when a broker seemingly panic closed my crude oil spread even tho I was well over their stated margin requirements. I did file a finra complaint so hoping to hear back from them. I also lost an insane amount by crypto brokers going under or getting "hacked" As far as the "insurance" last I heard is they only have the funds for like 1-2% of people. So just remember insurance companies can also go belly up. If dealing with large capital, one can hedge with hard assets like metals, RE, Bitcoin, etc
There are more than 3,600 broker-dealers in the US according to FINRA. Lightspeed is not in the top 15: https://www.investopedia.com/investing/broker-dealer-firms/