How to Open a Stock Brokerage Firm

Register with appropriate regulatory authorities and organizations. Unless a broker intends to conduct business solely within a state, it must register with the Securities and Exchange Commission by filing Form BD, the Uniform Application for Broker-Dealer Registration. It is also required that a broker may not begin business until it has become a member of a self-regulated organization (SRO) such as a national securities exchange or FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. With few exceptions, a broker must also be a member of the SIPC, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, which insures brokerage customers up to $500,000 in a broker liquidation.
Have partners, managers and employees registered with FINRA and arrange for them to pass their securities exams. In addition to a brokerage firm becoming a member of FINRA, its associated persons who effect securities transactions for the firm must also register with FINRA by filing Form U-4 through the firm. FINRA also sets qualification requirements for associated persons including passing a series of securities examinations. Among them, the comprehensive series 7 for corporate securities trading must be taken by anyone wishing to be a registered general securities representative.
Choose either to become an exchange member or sign an institution brokerage account agreement with another floor broker. Because there are only a limited number of seats from any stock exchange, new brokerage firms interested in becoming an exchange member have to either wait for a vacant seat to be for sale, or lease a seat from a current seat owner. Other firms may elect to conduct their brokerage business through a member broker. The New York Stock Exchange, for example, has 1366 floor brokers, including 7 designated specialists or market makers that non-member brokers can choose when routing their customers' orders.
Set up an infrastructure and platform for receiving and routing customer orders. These include purchasing computer servers, creating a website and choosing a stock trading software company for trading platform installation. All brokerage firms nowadays provide customers with access to online account management and online trading of securities. Depending on the intended size and complexity of the new brokerage firm, align your needs with the right version of trading software, full-fledged or scaled-down. Tech companies providing financial software offer such choices.

How to Perfect a Lien Upon Shares of Stock (3 Steps)

Draft a security agreement, which gives you a lien on the shares of stock to guarantee the debt's repayment. Review the SBA Form Security Agreement for an informative example of a security agreement. Sign and date the security agreement. Request that the other party sign the security agreement as well.
Take physical possession of the stock share certificates. If the certificates are registered in the other party's name, request the party endorse the certificates over to you by separate document. Generally, the document need only recite the security terms, and that the shares are assigned and transferred to you pursuant to the security agreement. The physical possession of the stock constitutes perfection in the majority of jurisdictions, but it's recommended you proceed to perfect the stock as you would other property.
File a Uniform Commercial Code Financing Statement. The UCC financing statement puts the entire world on constructive notice that you have a security interest or lien in the shares of stock. This protects you from other parties claiming to have a higher previous lien in the shares. Filing the UCC financing statement is not absolutely or legally necessary for perfection of a lien on stock, in the majority of states, but offers further protection of your lien.