Broker Issues Opening a LLC Account

[Brookwood 10]

I've opened personal futures accounts from discount brokers in the past without much fuss.

But I'm getting annoyed with my new potential broker for the following reasons:

First they just needed basic paperwork that could mostly be completed online. Then they needed non- facsimile signatures from the principals so I had to wait for those to come back in the mail from other States.

Now I need to send them personal bank statements, personal guarantees for liabilities, I need to amend my bylaws on the company letterhead to conform to their legalese,to be signed by all parties which means more trips to the bank, more mail, they wonder why the brand new company has had no income, and more. Then they "MAY" open the account! Is this standard procedure for opening a LLC account? My account is small but it will be over 20x the day trading margins, (and don't brokers have real-time margin cutoffs in place if they are so worried? ) So, many more delays that they incrementally add instead of letting me know up front all I would need, plus crawling up my butt with a flashlight which no one seemed to care about for a plain, self-directed account. I've already initialed 39 pages of forms, they have my tax ID number- WHAT GIVES?? I just wanted to post here first before I call the broker because I'm feeling things could get off on the wrong foot...

They are one of the few brokers that offers my preferred platform which is the reason I'm clinging to the idea of using them.

Thanks in advance for any perspective you may have on this issue (ie. is this normal procedure?)

[SIUYA 11]

Is this standard procedure for opening a LLC account?

 

Yes.

thanks to the anti money laundering and anti terrorism laws, Bernie Madoff, etc; etc;

the world is now all about compliance and PYA - protect your ass.

Currently I am opening about 20 accounts (dont ask) and every form is different, every broker requests different information.

the more directors you have, the more bank accounts, the more complex the company, the more difficult it is.

and heaven forbid you want to change some details......

 

some brokers are definitely easier than others.

 

GET USED TO IT.

 

example; the other day, for a sole shareholder/sole director company I needed to file a compliance report....WTF! So I checked with my compliance officer (Me) who reported to my Manager (Me) who reported to the board (Me) wrote a little note saying that it was OK and I was duly authorised to open an account with a particular broker. This one page compliance report had to be on a company newsletter and signed by all directors.

what a waste of time - but it has to be done.

[Brookwood 10]

:deal:

Lol- I won't ask!

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. If I could take care of all this in an afternoon I wouldn't mind so much but because of some particulars it might add another three weeks to open the account and by the language of their boilerplate they are being cagey about even opening it then. -sigh-

I may just poke around for one of the "easier" brokers...

Cheers,

BW

[SIUYA 11]

just remember the brokers, all their forms, all the PDS and the like are not really designed to protect you. they are designed to protect the broker from you suing them when you loose your money.

All those forms you read state the risks, get you to cover your own liabilities and make sure the broker is covered from every angle. Thats why a broker document the other day was 79 pages of writing, for 3 pages of form to fill in.

Kinda reminds you of the whole sub prime, and liar loans doesn't it

Then it also makes you wonder why you pay for commissions other than for direct market access and clearing.

 

Sorry....have been filling in too many forms, and waiting for too many requests for more information of late.

Good luck.

[Brookwood 10]

A nice lady called today and asked "Will you be sending your forms in today?" I explained that no,I was ready to send in what they had asked for originally but it would take at least a few days to get the rest of the additional info, and it would have been nice to have been apprised of everything that would be needed in the first place. Turns out my partner did not even need to sign the original forms to return to them. Just the new ones."Your broker must have misinformed you." I don't think even they know what is going on or what is needed. Classic! Glad we could vent! :crap:

[chcculle 10]

The paperwork.. bylaws, incorporation agreement, and liability agreement are pretty standard although a pain in the butt. Keep this stuff for future reference in case you change brokers.

That said, you should be able to open and fund an LLC account in just a few days. I just did this with Inifinity Futures and for the most part knowing in advance what I was in for... it was a breeze.

What you went through with your broker... snail mail and partner approvals does not sound right. And, i bet you're paying high commissions.

 

May i suggest Infinity Futures? They are very responsive, reliable, and service oriented. your broker will respond immediately if you have any issues. They will communicate however you prefer be it email, phone, IM. Also, they have competitive rates.

 

Here's who i'm using: Markus Zielbauer, Infinity Futures LLC. 866-907-2511

mrzielb@gmail.com

[zzzman 10]

Is there any way to open an LLC account and avoid the personal liability signature they will want? Are there any brokers that will do that? I had heard that there were in fact some forex brokers that will, but I had not heard of any futures brokers that will? I do intend to find a broker that will do a max daily account stop loss and guarantee it...is that possible? I always trade with a stop loss and presently am day only, but in the future may hold over night. After the "flash crash" I don't believe we can even rely on our stop loss orders...hence my quest to protect. Thanks, gh

[SIUYA 11]

zzzman....not that I know of.

I am in Australia and to be honest I would be worried about the systems in place at a broker that does not expect you to be able to cover your liabilities.

Do you want to watch your account be frozen because other traders at the same broker went belly up and pulled the broker down?

One of the things the GFC has taught people (or more so reminded people) that sometimes the biggest risk you have is with your counterparties - brokers.