Skip to content
GetProfitable
Search
Dictionary

Street name registration

Holding securities in the broker's nominee name at the depository rather than the investor's own name, which is how almost all modern brokerage positions are held.

Nearly every share bought through a broker is registered to Cede & Co., the nominee of the depository at dtcc, and your ownership exists as a book entry on your broker's records. This is what makes same-day electronic settlement and lending possible; certificates would make modern volumes impossible.

The trade-off is that you are a beneficial owner rather than a registered holder. Corporate communications reach you through the broker, voting runs through a proxy chain, and in class action or corporate action deadlines the broker is your interface. In a broker failure your claim is a customer claim, backstopped by rule-15c3-3 and sipc.

Investors who want a direct relationship with the issuer can use direct-registration-system instead, accepting slower transfers and no ability to trade until shares are moved back.

Related: direct-registration-system, dtcc, rehypothecation, rule-15c3-3, sipc

Educational only, not advice. Spotted an error? Post in Site Feedback.