Customer Information
The MSRB requires every municipal securities dealer and broker to obtain certain information about customers when opening an account. A broker-dealer typically must record a customer’s personal information, as follows:
• Name
• Residential or business address
• Date of birth (to ensure that the customer is of legal age)
• Social Security or taxpayer identification number
• Occupation and employer (and disclosure of whether the customer is employed by another broker-dealer)
• Employer’s address
A taxpayer identification number (TIN) is an ID number used by the IRS for tax reporting purposes. It may include a social security number issued by the Social Security Administration, and, issued by the IRS, an employee identification number (EIN), and an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). Non-U.S. persons may provide an ITIN, a passport number and country of issuance, or alien identification number, or government-issued identification showing nationality, residence, and a photograph.
The broker-dealer must also record the following account information:
• Whether it is a cash or margin account
• Any third-party trading authorization or discretionary authorization
• Suitability information, such as a customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives, and other information necessary to make a recommendation
• A predispute arbitration agreement, if applicable
• Any written authorization to release the customer’s account information
• A signed hypothecation agreement, if applicable
• Registered representative’s signature
• Signature of the principal
Note that the client’s educational background does not need to be provided. Nor is the customer’s signature required, except to sign off on specific agreements, such as a third party trading authorization, a hypothecation agreement if opening a margin account, or a predispute arbitration clau