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https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/185.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/185.asp > That doesn't mean the investor doesn't own the securities i

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/185.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/185.asp > That doesn't mean the investor doesn't own the securities it bought. It's just a formality. As part of the process, the broker will assign all ownership rights to the investor by registering the client as the beneficial owner. There was a quip about this in one of the moneystuff or bitsaboutmoney but not too sure which one.

lxgr 2y ago
You definitely do own them in a legal sense, but in a bookkeeping sense, there is a very real difference between the depository and your broker maintaining ownership records. Legal ownership is what makes your claims worth anything in a court of law, and protects them against those of other creditors, but without proper bookkeeping, you have no evidence a court could even consider.