Brokers Must Keep Counting Securities: SEC Seeks Rule Extension
Published Date: 11/18/2025
Notice
Summary
The SEC is asking to keep the rules that make brokers count and check their securities every few months to catch any mix-ups. This mainly affects brokers who handle stocks and other securities, making sure they fix any differences within a week. No big changes or extra costs are coming, but brokers need to keep up with these checks to stay in line.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
Quarterly Securities Count Requirement
If you run a broker-dealer, Rule 17a-13 requires you to physically examine and count all securities at least once each calendar quarter (or on a cyclical basis under certain conditions). The SEC staff estimates an average of 100 hours per respondent per year and notes there were about 3,342 active broker-dealers as of December 2024, for a total estimated recordkeeping burden of 334,200 hours per year.
Record and Report Unresolved Discrepancies
If your broker-dealer's securities count differs from your records, Rule 17a-13 requires you to note differences and record only those discrepancies that remain unresolved seven business days after the examination, count, and verification. The Commission or the applicable self-regulatory organization may examine those recorded discrepancies to determine whether they reflect the firm's inability to maintain control of its business.
Specified Exemptions From the Rule
Rule 17a-13 exempts broker-dealers that limit their business to the sale and redemption of securities of registered investment companies and interests in insurance company separate accounts, and those who solicit accounts for federally insured savings and loan associations, provided they promptly transmit all funds and securities and hold no customer funds or securities. The rule also does not apply to certain broker-dealers required to register only because they effect transactions in securities futures products.
Who Can Access These Records
Records created under Rule 17a-13 are available only to Commission examination staff, state securities authorities, and applicable self-regulatory organizations, and are not generally published, subject to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and 17 CFR 200.80(b)(4)(iii).
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