Based in Miami, Florida, StateTrust Investments Inc., together with StateTrust Capital, LLC (its affiliated investment advisor), provides financial planning services for high-net-worth clients and families. StateTrust Investments is a registered broker-dealer.

1. How to Become a Registered
Broker-Dealer
By StateTrust Investments

2. Introduction

Based in Miami, Florida, StateTrust
Investments Inc., together with
StateTrust Capital, LLC (its affiliated
investment advisor), provides financial
planning services for high-net-worth
clients and families. StateTrust
Investments is a registered brokerdealer.

3. About Regulation

There are several regulations with which
broker-dealers must comply before they can
operate as a business. First, they must file a
registration with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) using Form BD through
the Central Registration Depository. . The
SEC will decide to either grant or deny
registration after 45 days. If the broker-dealer
is successful with the SEC, they must next
obtain a membership with a self-regulatory
organization (SRO) like the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or one of many
national securities exchanges. (Each state
has their own set of regulations for brokerdealers.)

4. Conclusion

Lastly, aspiring broker-dealers must join
the Securities Investor Protection
Corporation (SIPC). This is an important
step, as the SIPC assists investors who
have failed in their efforts as a brokerdealer or declared bankruptcy. For more
information about SIPC and the
protections it provides, please visit
SIPC's website. You may also want to
read FINRA's Investor Alert entitled SIPC
Protection.