FDIC insurance is for banks, not brokers. I think what protects you from a broker going bust is the separation of client money from firm money. Though I think t

FDIC insurance is for banks, not brokers. I think what protects you from a broker going bust is the separation of client money from firm money. Though I think that separation failed in the most recent major broker bankruptcy (MF Global) and probably many others. FDIC would protect the broker against its own bank going bust (though I am sure there are guarantee caps).