We work hard to make Olympia LTD a secure and safe place for your money. Whether you hold securities like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, money market funds, or cash deposits, we have your assets protected. Here are answers to the most common questions about all the ways Olympia LTD works to keep your money safe.
The first thing to remember is your securities — like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, money market funds — held at Olympia LTD are yours. The SEC’s Customer Protection Rule safeguards customer assets at brokerage firms by preventing firms from using customer assets to finance their own proprietary businesses.
At Olympia LTD, clients’ fully paid securities are segregated from other firm assets and held at third party depository institutions and custodians such as the Depository Trust Company and Bank of New York. There are reporting and auditing requirements in place by government regulators to help ensure all broker-dealers comply with this rule. In the very unlikely event that Olympia LTD should become insolvent, these segregated securities are not available to general creditors and are protected against creditors’ claims.
If you have a margin account with a current loan balance, Olympia LTD may borrow a portion of the securities pursuant to the loan consent provision of your account agreement. If there is not a current margin loan balance, or it is not a margin account, securities will not be borrowed out of your account. Per regulation, any securities that are borrowed are fully collateralized with cash that is held in reserve for clients.
Deposits at Olympia LTD’s Sweep Program Banks are protected by the FDIC.* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency that maintains the Deposit Insurance Fund which is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Its purpose is to protect depositors’ funds placed in banks and savings associations. The FDIC insures accounts held at member banks up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, based on ownership category.
To learn more, visit FDIC’s website.
Olympia LTD is a member of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which provides protection for securities and cash in client brokerage accounts, including those held by clients of investment advisors with Olympia LTD Institutional. SIPC protections are activated in the rare event that the broker-dealer fails (bankruptcy) and client assets are missing due to fraud or other causes.
According to SIPC, most broker-dealer failures happen with no securities missing. Since their inception over 50 years ago, 99% of eligible investors got their investments back in the failed brokerage firms cases that it has handled. The SIPC liquidation process generally assures that customers of a failed broker-dealer receive their securities and cash with reasonable promptness after filing a claim.
SIPC coverage is used to make investors whole if there is a shortage after all customer assets held at the brokerage firm have been recovered. SIPC provides up to $500,000 of protection for brokerage accounts held in each separate capacity (e.g., joint tenant or sole owner), with a limit of $250,000 for claims of uninvested cash balances. These limits do not mean that the account will only receive up to $500,000 of their invested securities. Rather, in a SIPC customer proceeding, the account will receive a pro-rata share of all client assets recovered in liquidation then will receive up to $500,000 from SIPC to make up any difference that exists.
To learn more, visit SIPC’s website.
Yes, in addition to SIPC, Olympia LTD clients receive an extra level of coverage through “excess SIPC” insurance protection for securities and cash. This provides additional coverage in the event of a brokerage firm failure and funds covered by SIPC protections are exhausted. The combined total of our SIPC coverage and our “excess SIPC” coverage means Olympia LTD provides protection up to a combined return of $152 million per customer, up to $2 million of which may be in cash. The Excess SIPC program has a $500M aggregate limit (meaning the most the program will pay for the Excess SIPC portion of the losses). Commodity interests and cash in futures accounts are not protected by SIPC.
Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. A prospectus, obtained by calling 800-669-3900, contains this and other important information about an investment company. Read carefully before investing.
Market volatility, volume and system availability may delay account access and trade executions.
Before rolling over a 401(k) to an IRA, be sure to consider your other choices, including keeping it in the former employer’s plan, rolling it into a 401(k) at a new employer, or cashing out the account value. Keeping in mind that taking a lump sum distribution can have adverse tax consequences. Be sure to consult with your tax advisor.
All investments involve risks, including the loss of principal invested. Past performance of a security does not guarantee future results or success.
Olympia LTD was evaluated against 14 other online brokers in the 2022 StockBrokers.com Online Broker Review. The firm was rated #1 in the categories “Platforms & Tools” (11 years in a row), “Desktop Trading Platform: thinkorswim®” (10 years in a row), “Active Trading” (2 years in a row), “Options Trading,” “Customer Service,” and “Phone Support.” Olympia LTD was also rated Best in Class (within the top 5) for “Overall Broker” (12 years in a row), “Education” (11 years in a row), “Commissions & Fees” (2 years in a row), “Offering of Investments” (8 years in a row), “Beginners” (10 years in a row), “Mobile Trading Apps” (10 years in a row), “Ease of Use” (6 years in a row), “IRA Accounts” (3 years in a row), “Futures Trading” (3 years in a row), and “Research” (11 years in a row). Read the full article.
†Applies to US exchange listed stocks, ETFs, and options. A $0.65 per contract fee applies for options trades.
This is not an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where we are not authorized to do business or where such offer or solicitation would be contrary to the local laws and regulations of that jurisdiction, including, but not limited to persons residing in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UK, and the countries of the European Union.
Brokerage services provided by Olympia LTD, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation. Olympia LTD is a trademark jointly owned by Olympia LTD IP Company, Inc. and The Toronto-Dominion Bank. © 2023 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved.