Recovering Losses caused by Investment Misconduct

SIPC Considers Overhaul to Rules to Protect Individual Investors

The Securities Investor Protection Corp. (the SIPC) is considering a much needed overhaul to its 1970s rules, according to a September 12 Los Angeles Times article. The revamp comes on the heels of the two biggest financial calamities to ever hit the brokerage industry: the fall of Lehman Bros. and the discovery of the Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff.

Most people are aware of the FDIC (the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.), which insures individuals' deposit accounts for up to $250,000 per insured bank. The SIPC is similar. Funded by member broker-dealers, the nonprofit organization protects most stock investors for up to $500,000 in securities and cash (with a maximum of $100,000 in cash) in the event a brokerage firm files bankruptcy or closes due to financial problems.

The SIPC website states its current mission as: "Restoring funds to investors with assets in the hands of bankrupt and otherwise financially troubled brokerage firms." The website also stipulates that: "The Securities Investor Protection Corporation was not chartered by Congress to combat fraud. "
It is this caveat that is making many investors and securities lawyers push for an overhaul. After the recent catastrophic financial fallouts from investment fraud, and with investment scams still on the rise, many people inside and outside of the industry are calling for a change.

And, according to the Los Angeles Times article, the SIPC is beginning to listen: "It's time to look at whether retail investors ought to be treated differently than sophisticated investors such as pensions and hedge funds," said Stephen P. Harbeck, president of the SIPC. "It's time to look at the levels of protection and the adequacy of our funding."

The SIPC is now accepting comments by both securities professionals and the public. For more information on the debate, visit http://www.sipcmodernization.org/.

About our law firm:

The law firm of David P. Meyer & Associates represents individuals who have been harmed by investment fraud. Contact us toll-free at 1.866.827.6537 for more information.