No joke - how safe are the stocks you hold???? They may not be as safe as you think!!!! I have been moving and so, it has been a while since I checked my "usual news sources" and posted up here....a little background info for this post....if you "own"stocks...you DO NOT REALLY HOLD THEM - since the eradication of the "paper trail" and the use of electronic trading...a company...Cede & Co. now REALLY holds the stock...see here... http://www.zerohedge.com/article/en...25-trillion-dtcc-cleared-credit-default-swaps Well, after catching up on the FDIC failed bank list...I noticed something a little different in the "Failed Bank Information" - as of recently (last month as far as I can tell from a quick scan - not guaranteed by me ) The "Failed Bank Information" in many cases now lists that funds held by the failing bank for "Cede & Co." are not being transferred (or at least doesn't say where the deposits are going). Where are they going? Why isn't Cede & Co. "holding" them? Check in the "Acquiring Financial Institution" section: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/shoreline.html This suggests a few things to me... 1.) Cede & Co. has "deposits" which are propping up some bad banks. 2.) Most stock "owners" probably have no idea their stocks are propping up bad banks. 3.) Is potentially shady dealing going on...if Cede & Co. "deposits" assets at a bank...which the bank may then use for collateral...in making stock trades????? Are there prohibitions against this? Can a bank hold stock (deposited by Cede & Co.) for its own corporation? Ciao, gastropod
Good post. I'm anxious t o hear the replies. I closed my large account in 2000 and then then two others in 2004 and still hold only one small account because I didn't think that my money was safe.
Supposedly smart "clients" tell their brokers to hold stocks in their name, not in street name. Therefore they can't be pledged as collateral, borrowed or otherwise encumbered. Still, in my opinion it's not a question of whom has legal title, but broadly a question of the risk of holding intangible assets like equities.
Wise advise kxvid! It sure looks like a lot of people do not follow the advice to keep "their" stocks out of "street name" - as shown by the number of "deposits" that these failing banks have from "Cede & Co." -gastropod