Regulatory Controls for your Protection
Empire Asset Management and RBC Clearing & Custody a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC are registered broker-dealers are subject to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and is registered with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). These regulatory organizations each have certain rules and regulations that we must follow to safeguard your assets, including:
Keeping accurate records of your assets
Maintaining net capital at required levels
In compliance with SEC rules, RBC Clearing & Custody a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC will have an independent public accounting firm audit your financial information every year. Further, as a member of the NYSE and FINRA and registered with the SEC, RBC Clearing & Custody a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC is subject to continuous oversight and examinations.
Further Safeguards
As your custodian, it is required by the SEC to file monthly and quarterly financial and operational reports (FOCUS reports) within 17 business days of the month's end. The quarterly report contains financial statements, including:
Statement of financial condition
Income statement and statement of changes in stockholders' equity
Regulatory schedules, including a computation of net capital, a reserve formula computation, and other key financial and operational data
Empire Asset Management cannot use your fully paid securities for its business. These securities must be held for your own exclusive benefit, and are subject to the instructions that we provide to RBC Clearing & Custody a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC.
RBC Clearing & Custody a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC must account for and inspect every physical security owned by an investor at least once every calendar quarter. Any differences must be recorded and corrected within specific time frames. Net customer cash balances not required for customer transactions must be maintained in a cash account segregated for the exclusive benefit of customers.*
Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)
Both Empire Asset Management and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which was created in 1970 to protect customers of member broker-dealer firms in case of broker-dealer liquidation. A non-profit membership corporation, SIPC is funded by broker-dealers, and protects its membership by law. To cover assets such as yours, the SIPC fund is supported by:
- $1 billion line of credit with a bank consortium
- Borrowing power of up to $1 billion from the U.S. Treasury through the SEC
Because the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 affords special benefits to SIPC covered firms, securities in accounts carried by RBC Clearing & Custody a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC are protected in accordance with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) up to $500,000 (including cash claims limited to $250,000). For details, please visit www.sipc.org.