Thank you for allowing Advanced Equities, Inc. (AEI) to service your account. Please read this document carefully, as it contains important information about our policies and procedures, the responsibilities of your financial consultant, as well as your rights and responsibilities as an investor. Once you read this document, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your financial consultant.
You have provided your financial consultant and Advanced Equities, Inc. with confidential information so that we can help you meet your personal financial goals. Preserving this confidentiality and your privacy is of the highest importance to us. We hold all personal information provided to us in the strictest of confidence, including information that we collect from you in connection with any of the services we provide.
How we protect your personal information:
The categories of nonpublic personal information that we collect from your account applications and other forms, in interviews, or by other means depend upon the scope of the relationship you have with your financial consultant. This may include information about your finances and personal profile (such as social security number, annual income and net worth, investment experience), information about your health to the extent that it is needed for the planning process (for insurance applications), and information about transactions between you and third parties (trading history and account balances).
Advanced Equities has an agreement with our clearing firm or product sponsor to custody certain accounts on our behalf. Your confirmations and statements are generated by this clearing firm or product sponsor and contain important information about your account. Please review these upon receipt. The confirmations have information about each of your trades, including whether the order was solicited or unsolicited.
What is a solicited order? Whenever you follow a transaction recommendation made by your financial consultant, the order is considered solicited. An order resulting from a research report or a written communication by your financial consultant is also considered solicited.
Orders not recommended by your financial consultant are marked as unsolicited, or un. If an order is not marked, we will consider it to be a solicited trade. If you find any mis-marked orders or other discrepancies, notify your financial consultant to make arrangements for a new confirmation to be sent to you.
Please remember that all checks for investments should include your account number and must only be made payable to the carrying firm of your account or other approved product sponsors. Checks should not be made payable to Advanced Equities or any other person or entity. Any questions you may have concerning the conduct of your account should be addressed to your financial consultant.
Advanced Equities may accept responsibility only for authorized approved securities transactions executed through us.
Clearing Firm Accounts Only
The following two sections (Order Flow and Risks) apply only to those clients who have accounts with clearing firms.
In some cases, Advanced Equities receives compensation for directing orders to particular brokers, dealers, or market centers for execution. This compensation may include monetary payments, research, clearance, custody, products or services; reciprocal agreements for the provision of order flow; adjustment of Advanced Equities unfavorable trading errors; orders to participate as underwriter in public offerings; stock loans or shared interest accrued there; discounts, rebates or reductions of or credits against fees.
Absent specific instructions from you, Advanced Equities routes listed and OTC orders to market centers according to predetermined algorithms. (For certain orders, Advanced Equities may deviate from the algorithm selection method in an attempt to secure prices superior to the National Best Bid or Best Offer [NBBO] at the time the order was received.) These market centers execute such orders to purchase or sell at the NBBO. In order to provide opportunities for execution of orders in listed securities at prices superior to the NBBO at the time the order is received, Advanced Equities allows the market center to hold the order for up to sixty seconds after receipt to determine if better prices are available. OTC orders are routed to be executed at the NBBO or better.
Many risks are inherent when investing in securities. We would like to make you aware of a few of the more hazardous ones.
Fast Market Risks. A fast market is characterized by wide price fluctuations and heavy trading. It often comes as a result of an imbalance in trade orders (all sells and no buys for example), and can be brought on by such events as a dearth of market makers, a company news announcement, or strong analyst recommendation. Several risks are inherent in a fast market, including execution prices differing from quotes, and executions and quotes delayed and orders filled in segments.
Margin Risks. A decline in the value of securities or a change in maintenance requirements may cause you to provide additional funds to avoid the forced sale of securities in your account. The clearing firm reserves the right to change maintenance requirements at any time, therefore when trading on margin, you should keep in mind the impact that a potential change may have on your account. Additionally, margin interest will add to losses or significantly reduce earnings.
Day Trading Risks. Day trading is generally understood to be an overall trading strategy characterized by regular multiple intra-day orders to purchase and sell the same security or securities. Day trading is not generally appropriate for someone with limited resources and limited investment or trading experience, or low risk tolerance. Several risks are inherent in day trading, and you could lose all of the funds that you use for day trading. You should not fund day trading activities with money that you cannot afford to lose, including retirement savings, student loans, second mortgages, emergency funds, funds set aside for purposes such as education or home ownership, or funds required from current income to meet your living expenses. Be cautious of claims of large profits.
Advanced Equities may not have adequate systems capacity to permit day trading activities (please also see Fast Market Risks, above). Day trading usually includes aggressively trading your account, and commissions on each trade may add to your losses or significantly reduce your earnings. Day trading on margin or short selling may result in losses beyond your initial investment (please see Margin Risks, above). Short day trading also may lead to extraordinary losses, because you may be required to purchase securities at a disadvantageous price to cover a short position.
Advanced Equities has a Client Services Department that is available to answer your questions and address your concerns if your financial consultant or branch manager is unable to. Please contact us at (800) 474-0900, or you may write us at our corporate offices.
Advanced Equities Inc.
Attn: Client Services / Operations
311 S. Wacker Drive. Suite 1650
Chicago, IL 60606
In response to the attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, Congress approved the USA PATRIOT Act. The PATRIOT Act is designed to detect, deter, and punish terrorists in the United States and abroad who use or attempt to use the U.S. financial system to aid in their activities. The Act imposes new requirements for brokerage firms and financial institutions, requiring stricter controls and more comprehensive programs to identify money laundering.
As part of these new requirements, Advanced Equities Securities designated a special compliance officer for our anti-money laundering program, who sets up employee training, conducts independent audits, and established policies and procedures to detect and report suspicious transactions. As part of our program, you may be asked by your financial consultant, or by us, to provide various identification documents or other information. In addition, your financial consultant may inquire about and/or request supporting documentation concerning the source of funds deposited in your account. Until we receive this information, we may be unable to open or modify an existing account, or effect any transactions, including withdrawals of funds.