ANNUAL REPORT
SECURITIES INVESTOR
PROTECTION CORPORATION
. . Securities Investor Protection Corporation
805 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20005-2215
(202) 371-8300 Fax (202) 371-6728
www.sipc.org
April 30, 2015
The Honorable Mary Jo White
Chair
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Dear Chair White:
On behalf of the Board of Directors I submit herewith the Forty-fourth Annual Report of the
Securities Investor Protection Corporation pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(c)(2) of the
Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970.
Respectfully,
Stephen P. Harbeck
President & CEO
.
CONTENTS
Message from the Board of Directors
3
Overview of SIPC
4
Directors & Officers
5
Corporate Governance Practices
6
Customer Protection Proceedings
8
Membership and the SIPC Fund
10
Litigation
13
Disciplinary and Criminal Actions
17
Financial Statements and Auditor’s Report
18
SIPC Fund Comparison
29
Appendix 1: Distributions for Accounts of Customers for the
30
Forty-Four Years Ended December 31, 2014
Appendix 2: Analysis of SIPC Revenues and Expenses for the
31
Five Years Ended December 31, 2014
Appendix 3: Customer Protection Proceedings
32
A: Customer Claims and Distributions Being Processed
B: Customer Claims Satisfied, Litigation Matters Pending
34
C: Proceedings Completed in 2014
36
D: Summary
2
32
38
SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
. MESSAGE
FROM THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
DEVELOPMENTS REGARDING
THE SIPC BOARD
In June 2014, SIPC Acting Chairman Sharon Y.
Bowen resigned from the SIPC Board and was
sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. SIPC
and its Board are grateful to Ms. Bowen for
her service as a Director, and as Acting Chair.
We wish her well.
In September 2014, SIPC welcomed Director Mark Kaufman to its Board as a government director.
Prior to joining the Department of the Treasury as Counselor to
the Deputy Secretary, Mr. Kaufman served
as the Maryland Commissioner of Financial
Regulation, where he led supervision of
state chartered banks, and directed vigorous efforts to address foreclosure servicing
problems, illegal online payday lending, and
abusive debt collection practices. In recognition of his contributions to consumer protection, he was named Consumer Advocate of
the Year by the Maryland Consumer Rights
Coalition in 2014.
The Board congratulates
Director Kaufman for this well-earned award.
The Board also expresses its appreciation to
the outgoing SIPC Director from the Treasury
Department, former Assistant Secretary for
Financial Institutions Cyrus Amir-Mokri.
MAJOR EXISTING CASES
SIPC initiated no new customer protection
proceedings in 2014. Happily, developments
in existing liquidations allowed for significant
distributions in SIPC’s largest cases.
Including court-approved settlements, the
trustee in the Madoff liquidation recovered
more than $1 billion in 2014, which brought
total amounts recovered through year-end to
$10.55 billion. Although the trustee continues
to hold amounts in reserve pending the outcome of litigation, the court-approved distributions of customer property through February
2015, combined with SIPC advances, resulted
in every customer with an allowed claim of
$976,592 or less, being fully satisfied.
Through
February 2015, the trustee distributed $7.21
billion which included $694.18 million in
SIPC net advances. In addition to its advances for customers, SIPC continued to advance
funds to pay the administrative expenses of the
liquidation, including those associated with the
trustee’s recovery efforts. No customer funds
are used for that purpose.
With SIPC’s support, the Madoff trustee’s efforts to maximize
amounts returned to customers will continue
into 2015. In 2014, the signature achievement
in the Lehman Brothers liquidation was the
resolution of a large volume of claims, and the
distribution of assets to a variety of classes of
creditors. The trustee substantially completed
a 100% distribution exceeding $105 billion,
to over 111,000 claimants.
The trustee also
made 100% distributions to secured and priority creditors, which totaled in excess of $250
million. In addition, the trustee made a first interim distribution of more than $3.4 billion (17
cents on the dollar) to more than 3,000 general
unsecured creditors, and established courtapproved reserves for all outstanding claims.
To date, the trustee has resolved over 13,000
general creditor claims totaling $123 billion,
with more than 6,000 general creditor claims
asserted in an aggregate of $11 billion being
resolved in 2014 alone.
In addition to distributions, the trustee
made substantial progress in asset recovery
efforts, including the recovery of more than
$560 million from Lehman affiliates, and an
additional $30 million in recoveries from
third parties. Asset sales in 2014 yielded
more than $430 million, adding to a total
of over $7.5 billion realized by the estate.
All told, since Lehman’s collapse in September 2008, the trustee has administered approximately $122 billion to customers or for
administrative expenses, at no cost to SIPC.
In the MF Global liquidation, the trustee
largely completed the distribution of over
$6.2 billion in property to MFGI’s securities
and futures customers, representing a return
of 100% of the property owed to the more
than 30,000 affected customers with allowed claims.
The trustee continued to work
to resolve outstanding claims against MFGI’s
general estate, and, by the end of 2014, had
resolved nearly all of those claims. The trustee sought and obtained court permission to
make 100% distributions on allowed claims
for administrative expenses and secured and
priority claims against MFGI’s general estate,
along with a first interim distribution to unsecured estate creditors of 39% of the property owed to them. The trustee has now commenced those distributions, and expects to
be able to make additional distributions to
unsecured creditors as required reserves for
administrative expenses are reduced and
as the estate receives additional recoveries
from various sources.
The Board looks forward to building on
these positive events in the coming year.
2014 ANNUAL REPORT
3
.
OVERVIEW
OF SIPC
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) had its
origins in the difficult years of 1968–70, when the paperwork
crunch, brought on by unexpectedly high trading volume, was
followed by a very severe decline in stock prices. Hundreds
of broker-dealers were merged, acquired or simply went out
of business. Some were unable to meet their obligations to
customers and went bankrupt. Public confidence in our securities
markets was in jeopardy.
Congress acted swiftly, passing the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970, 15
U.S.C.
§ 78aaa et seq. (SIPA). Its purpose
is to afford certain protections against loss
to customers resulting from broker-dealer
failure and, thereby, promote investor confidence in the nation’s securities markets.
Currently, the limits of protection are $500,000
per customer except that claims for cash are
limited to $250,000 per customer.
SIPC is a nonprofit, membership corporation. Its members are, with some exceptions,
all persons registered as brokers or dealers
under Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and all persons who are
members of a national securities exchange.
A board of seven directors determines
policies and governs operations. Five directors are appointed by the President of the
United States subject to Senate approval.
Three of the five represent the securities industry and two are from the general public.
One director is appointed by the Secretary of
the Treasury and one by the Federal Reserve
Board from among the officers and employees of those organizations.
The Chairman
and the Vice Chairman are designated by
the President from the public directors.
The self-regulatory organizations—the exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)—and the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission)
report to SIPC concerning member brokerdealers who are in or approaching financial
4
difficulty. If SIPC determines that the customers of a member require the protection afforded by the Act, the Corporation initiates
steps to commence a customer protection
proceeding†. This requires that SIPC apply to
a Federal District Court for appointment of a
trustee to carry out a liquidation.
Under certain circumstances, SIPC may pay customer
claims directly.
The SIPC staff, numbering 38, initiates
the steps leading to the liquidation of a
member, advises the trustee, his counsel and
accountants, reviews claims, audits distributions of property, and carries out other activities pertaining to the Corporation’s purposes. In cases where the court appoints SIPC as
Trustee and in direct payment proceedings,
the staff responsibilities and functions are all
encompassing—from taking control of customers’ and members’ assets to satisfying
valid customer claims and accounting for the
handling of all assets and liabilities.
The resources required to protect customers beyond those available from the
property in the possession of the trustee
for the failed broker-dealer are advanced
by SIPC. The sources of money for the SIPC
Fund are assessments collected from SIPC
members and interest on investments in
United States Government securities.
In addition, if the need arises, the SEC has the authority to lend SIPC up to $2.5 billion, which
it, in turn, would borrow from the United
States Treasury.
SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
__________
See the Series 100 Rules Identifying Accounts of
“Separate Customers” of SIPC members.
* ection 3(a)(2)(A) of SIPA excludes:
S
(i) ersons whose principal business, in the
p
determination of SIPC, taking into account business
of affiliated entities, is conducted outside the
United States and its territories and possessions;
(ii) ersons whose business as a broker or dealer
p
consists exclusively of (I) the distribution of shares
of registered open end investment companies
or unit investment trusts, (II) the sale of variable
annuities, (III) the business of insurance, or (IV)
the business of rendering investment advisory
services to one or more registered investment
companies or insurance company separate
accounts; and
(iii) ersons who are registered as a broker or dealer
p
pursuant to [15 U.S.C. § 78o(b)(11)(A)]
A
lso excluded are government securities brokers
or dealers who are members of a national securities
exchange but who are registered under section 15C(a)
(1)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and
brokers or dealers registered under Section 15(b)(11)
(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
F
urther information about the provisions for
customer account protection is contained in a
booklet, “How SIPC Protects You,” available on
SIPC’s website at www.sipc.org/news-and-media/ and
also available in bulk from the Securities Industry and
Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), c/o Howard
Press, 450 West First St., Roselle, NJ 07203, phone
number (908)620-2547, and from the FINRA Book
Store, P.O. Box 9403, Gaithersburg, MD 20898-9403.
The web site address for FINRA orders is www.
finra.org/Industry/order and the phone number is
(240)386-4200.
†
T
itle II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) governs the
orderly liquidation of financial companies whose
failure and resolution under otherwise applicable
Federal or state law would have serious adverse
effects on U.S.
financial stability. If the Dodd-Frank
orderly liquidation authority is invoked with regard
to a broker or dealer that is a SIPC member, the
responsibility for the resolution of the broker or
dealer will be shared between SIPC and the FDIC.
For example, the FDIC will: (1) act as receiver of
the broker-dealer; (2) appoint SIPC as trustee; and
(3) jointly determine with SIPC the terms of the
protective decree to be filed by SIPC with a federal
district court of competent jurisdiction.
. DIREC TORS
& OFFICERS
DIRECTORS
Anthony D’Agostino
Maven Medical
CEO and Founder
Matthew J. Eichner
Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System
Deputy Director, Division of
Reserve Bank Operations and
Payment Systems
William S. Jasien
Stonehedge Global Partners
President & CEO
COMMITTEE COMPOSITION
Audit and Budget
Committee
William S. Jasien
Matthew J.
Eichner—Chair
Compensation Committee
Gregory S. Karawan—Chair
Investment Committee
Matthew J. Eichner
Anthony D’Agostino—Chair
OFFICERS
Gregory S.
Karawan
Genworth Financial
Senior Vice President & General
Counsel, Insurance & Wealth
Management; and Global Chief
Litigation Counsel
Mark Kaufman
United States Department
of the Treasury
Counselor to the
Deputy Secretary
Stephen P. Harbeck
President & CEO
Joseph S. Furr, Jr.
Vice President—Finance
Josephine Wang
General Counsel & Secretary
Karen L.
Saperstein
Vice President—Operations
2014 ANNUAL REPORT
5
. CORPOR ATE
GOVERNANCE
PRACTICES
COMMITTEES
The Board of Directors oversees the management of SIPC’s business and affairs, as well as its corporate governance, a continuing priority for
SIPC. In futherance of its responsibilities, the Board has delegated certain duties to three standing committees—the Audit and Budget Committee, the Investment Committee, and the Compensation Committee. SIPC’s Bylaws provide that each Committee is comprised of a public
director, an industry director, and a government director.
Committee
Audit & Budget
Committee
Purpose
Authority/Responsibilities
• Provides oversight of the integrity of financial
statements and financial reporting and the overall
effectiveness of internal control environment
• Selects the independent external auditor
to examine accounts, controls, and
financial statements
• Oversees compliance with applicable legal and
regulatory requirements and the independence,
qualifications, and performance of the external auditor
• Monitors independence and performance of
external auditors
• Ensures adequate management controls to minimize
the financial risks to which the Fund
is exposed
• Reviews financial statements and financial disclosures
• Reviews the proposed budget relative to annual goals
and objectives, and recommends final budget to Board
• Reviews systems of internal control
• Reviews federal tax return
Investment
Committee
• Assists the Board in formulating investment policies
• Oversees management of the SIPC Fund and
compliance with the Securities Investor Protection Act
provisions relating to Fund investments
• Ensures adequate controls to minimize the investment
risks to which the Fund is exposed
• Establishes, reviews, and updates the investment policy
for approval by the Board
• Oversees the adoption of appropriate risk management
policies and procedures to manage, to the extent
possible, market, liquidity, credit, and other investment
and asset management risks
• Ensures that investments are made only in United States
Government or agency securities as statutorily required
• Reviews overall investment performance, asset
allocation, and expenses
• Reports on investment performance and changes in
investments to the Board
Compensation
Committee
• Provides oversight of total compensation strategy
and assists the Board in determining the appropriate
compensation for officers and compensation levels
for staff
• Oversees the development and administration of SIPC’s
Human Resource programs and policies including talent
management, staffing, performance management,
benefits, and succession planning
• Ensures that human resources opportunities and risks are
properly identified and managed
• Establishes, reviews and updates compensation
strategy and structure for approval by the Board
• Annually reviews proposals regarding compensation
• Recommends compensation for officers and staff for
approval by the Board
• Recommends strategies and plans for merit pay/
incentives/severance pay and other unusual
compensation arrangements that may arise
6
SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
. ETHICS AND
WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY
Annually, SIPC’s public and industry directors must confirm receiving the SIPC Director Code of Ethics, having reviewed it, and
being familiar with its contents. They must
disclose any actual or potential conflicts of
interest, avoid activities that could reasonably lead to a conflict of interest, not use
their position for personal gain or for the
gain of a spouse, dependent, or partner
and maintain in strict confidence all information that would reasonably be expected
to be maintained in confidence.
SIPC has a Whistleblower Policy that encourages and enables employees to raise
serious concerns about violations of SIPC’s
Code of Conduct, which is a part of the SIPC
Bylaws and included in the SIPC Personnel
Guide. As outlined by the Policy, employees may report complaints and allegations
concerning violations of the SIPC Code of
Conduct and general principles of law and
business ethics to their supervisors or SIPC’s
Director
Compliance Officer. All SIPC staff must acknowledge annually that they have read and
understand the SIPC Personnel Guide including the Business Ethics Policy, the Ethics
Rules, and the Whistleblower Policy.
DIRECTOR HONORARIA AND
MEETING ATTENDANCE
The Chairman receives a yearly honorarium of $15,000.
The Vice Chairman and the
three industry directors each receive annual honoraria of $6,250. The Chairman, Vice
Chairman, and three industry directors are
reimbursed for their official business expenses. The two government directors receive no honoraria and are not reimbursed
for their official business expenses.
The Board held five regular, and five special
meetings in 2014.
The Audit and Budget Committee met five times; the Investment Committee once; and the Compensation Committee
had no meetings.1 The Director attendance at
Board and committee meetings for the year
ended December 31, 2014 was as follows:
Board Meetings
Committee Meetings
Anthony D’Agostino
10/10
1/1
Matthew J. Eichner
9/10
6/6
William S. Jasien
9/10
4/5
Gregory S.
Karawan
10/10
0/0
Mark Kaufman
3/3
N/A
Cyrus Amir-Mokri*
0/3
0/0
Sharon Bowen*
4/4
3/3
* Directorship terminated during the year
1
B
ecause of vacancies on the Board, the Compensation Committee had only one member during its
scheduled meetings. As such, the whole Board performed the functions normally conducted by the
Compensation Committee.
2014 ANNUAL REPORT
7
. CUSTOMER
PROTECTION
PROCEEDINGS
In 2014, no customer protection proceedings were initiated. Over the last ten-year
period, the annual average of new cases
was 1.5. Since the inception of SIPC, 328
proceedings commenced under SIPA. These
328 members represent less than one percent of the approximately 39,600 brokerdealers that have been SIPC members during the last forty-four years.
Currently, SIPC
has 4,080 members.
During SIPC’s forty-four year history, cash
and securities distributed for accounts of customers totaled approximately $134.0 billion.
Of that amount, approximately $133.0 billion
came from debtors’ estates and $1.0 billion
came from the SIPC Fund (See Appendix 1).
40
FIGURE I
Status of Customer Protection Proceedings
December 31, 2014
30
n ustomer claims being processed (6)
C
n ustomer claims satisfied, litigation matters pending (2)
C
n roceedings completed (320)
P
24
15
13
12
10
8
8
7
4
6
4
9
7
12
10
8
5
8
4
5
8
7
6
3
9
7
6
5
4
5
3
2
2
3
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
Year 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14
Total 24 40 30 15 8
4
7
4
6
5 10 8
7
9 12 8
4
5
Proceedings commenced
8
SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
6
8
8 13 3
2
4
7 10 6
9
5 12 5
7
2
1
3
0
5
0
0
2
1
3
0
. “An Act to provide greater protection
for customers of registered brokers
and dealers and members of national
securities exchanges.”
Preamble to SIPA
Claims over the Limits
Of the more than 625,200 claims satisfied in
completed or substantially completed cases as
of December 31, 2014, a total of 352 were for
cash and securities whose value was greater
than the limits of protection afforded by SIPA.
The 352 claims represent less than onetenth of one percent of all claims satisfied.
The unsatisfied portion of claims, $47.3 million, is unchanged in 2014. These remaining claims approximate three-tenths of one
percent of the total value of securities and
cash distributed for accounts of customers in
those cases.
SIPC Fund Advances
Table 1 shows that the 89 debtors, for which
net advances of more than $1 million have
been made from the SIPC Fund, accounted
for 98 percent of the total advanced in all 328
customer protection proceedings. The largest
net advance in a single liquidation is $1.81 billion in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
This exceeds the net advances in all
of the other proceedings combined.
In the 29 largest proceedings, measured
by net funds advanced, SIPC advanced
$2.17 billion, or 92 percent of net advances
from the SIPC Fund for all proceedings.
TABLE I
Net Advances from the SIPC Fund
December 31, 2014
328 Customer Protection Proceedings
Number of
Proceedings
Net Advances
From
Amounts
Advanced
To
$40,000,001
10,000,001
up
$40,000,000
1
$1,809,671,263
11
229,906,696
5,000,001
10,000,000
17
126,010,535
1,000,001
5,000,000
60
134,825,023
500,001
1,000,000
40
28,063,280
250,001
500,000
43
14,976,227
100,001
250,000
61
9,802,670
50,001
100,000
42
2,995,426
25,001
50,000
24
879,779
10,001
25,000
11
168,668
0 10,000 11
Net Recovery
7
26,087
(13,991,621)*
$2,343,334,033†
* ecovery of assets and appreciation of debtors’ investments after the filing date enabled the trustee to repay
R
SIPC its advances plus interest.
†
C
onsists of advances for accounts of customers ($1,027,977,923) and for administration expenses ($1,315,356,110).
2014 ANNUAL REPORT
9
. MEMBERSHIP
AND THE
SIPC FUND
The net decrease of 100 members during
the year brought the total membership to
4,080 at December 31, 2014. Table 2 shows
the members’ affiliation for purposes of assessment collection, as well as the year’s
changes therein.
staff that: (a) 13 are no longer engaged in
the securities business and are under review
by the Commission for possible revocation,
(b) 1 registration has been cancelled, and
(c) 16 have been referred to the Commission
Regional Office for possible cancellation.
Delinquencies
SIPC Fund
Members who are delinquent in paying
assessments receive notices pursuant to
SIPA Section 14(a),1 As of December 31,
2014, there were 38 members who were the
subjects of uncured notices, 13 of which were
mailed during 2014, 12 during 2013, five
during 2012, four in 2010, two in 2009 and
one in 2008 and 2003. Subsequent filings
and payments by 8 members left 30 notices
uncured. SIPC has been advised by the SEC
The SIPC Fund, Table 5, on page 29, consisting of the aggregate of cash and investments
in United States Government securities at fair
value, amounted to $2.15 billion at year end,
an increase of $253 million during 2014.
Tables 3 and 4, on pages 11 and 12, present principal revenues and expenses for the
years 1971 through 2014.
The 2014 member
assessments were $426.7 million and interest
from investments was $40.0 million. During
the years 1971 through 1977, 1983 through
1985, 1989 through 1995, and 2009 through
2014, member assessments were based on a
percentage of each member’s gross revenue
(net operating revenue for 1991 through
1995 and 2009 through 2014) from the securities business.
Appendix 2, on page 31, is an analysis
of revenues and expenses for the five years
ended December 31, 2014.
TABLE 2
SIPC Membership
Year Ended December 31, 2014
Agents for Collection of SIPC Assessments
FINRA(b)
Total
Added(a)
Terminated(a)
3,908 147 192
SIPC
26 — 29(d)
Chicago Board Options Exchange Incorporated
76
NYSE MKT LLC(g)
16 —
NYSE Arca, Inc.(e)
15 2 1
NASDAQ OMX PHLX(f)
22 6 1
Chicago Stock Exchange, Incorporated
17
(c)
1
—
30
3
—
4,080 156 256
Notes:
(a) The numbers in this category do not reflect transfers of members to successor collection agents that
occurred within 2014.
(b) ffective July 30, 2007 the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) and the regulatory functions
E
of the New York Stock Exchange, Inc.
(NYSE) merged to form the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
(FINRA).
(c) IPC serves as the collection agent for registrants under section 15(b) of the 1934 Act that are not members of
S
any self-regulatory organization.
T
he “SIPC” designation is an extralegal category created by SIPC for internal purposes only. It is a category by
default and mirrors the SECO broker-dealer category abolished by the SEC in 1983.
(d) his number reflects the temporary status of broker-dealers between the termination of membership in a selfT
regulatory organization and the effective date of the withdrawal or cancellation of registration under section 15(b)
of the 1934 Act.
(e) ormerly the Pacific Stock Exchange, Inc.
F
(f) ormerly the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.
F
(g) ormerly the American Stock Exchange LLC (NYSE Amex LLC)
F
10 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
__________
1
1
4(a) Failure to Pay Assessment, etc—If a member
of SIPC shall fail to file any report or information
required pursuant to this Act, or shall fail to pay
when due all or any part of an assessment made
upon such member pursuant to this Act, and such
failure shall not have been cured, by the filing of
such report or information or by the making of
such payment, together with interest and penalty
thereon, within five days after receipt by such
member of written notice of such failure given by
or on behalf of SIPC, it shall be unlawful for such
member, unless specifically authorized by the
Commission, to engage in business as a broker
or dealer. If such member denies that it owes all
or any part of the full amount so specified in such
notice, it may after payment of the full amount so
specified commence an action against SIPC in the
appropriate United States district court to recover
the amount it denies owing.
.
TABLE 3
SIPC Revenues for the Forty-Four Years
Ended December 31, 2014
n ember assessments and contributions: $3,131,954,854
M
n nterest on U.S. Government securities: $1,731,563,864
I
450
400
350
Millions of Dollars
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14
Year
History of Member Assessments*
1971: ½ of 1% plus an initial assessment of 1⁄8 of 1% of 1969
revenues ($150 minimum).
1972–1977: ½ of 1%.
January 1–June 30, 1978: ¼ of 1%.
July 1–December 31, 1978: None.
1979–1982: $25 annual assessment.
1983–March 31, 1986: ¼ of 1% effective May 1, 1983 ($25 minimum).
1986–1988: $100 annual assessment.
1989–1990: 3⁄16 of 1% ($150 minimum).
1991: .065% of members’ net operating revenues ($150 minimum).
1992: .057% of members’ net operating revenues ($150 minimum).
1993: .054% of members’ net operating revenues ($150 minimum).
1994: .073% of members’ net operating revenues ($150 minimum).
1995: .095% of members’ net operating revenues ($150 minimum).
1996–March 31, 2009: $150 annual assessment.
April 1, 2009–December 31, 2014: .25% of members’ net
operating revenues.
__________
* ates based on each member’s gross revenues (net operating revenues for
R
1991–1995 and April 1, 2009 to present) from the securities business.
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 11
. TABLE 4
SIPC Expenses for the Forty-Four Years
Ended December 31, 2014
n ustomer protection proceedings: $3,230,634,033 (Includes net advances of
C
$2,343,334,033 and $898,600,000 of estimated costs to complete proceedings less
estimated future recoveries of $11,300,000.)
n Other expenses: $280,124,647
1,500
1,400
1,300
1,200
1,100
1,000
Millions of Dollars
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
-100
-200
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14
Year
12 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
. LITIGATION
In 2014, SIPC and trustees under the Securities Investor Protection Act (“SIPA”) were actively involved
in litigation at the trial and appellate levels. The more noteworthy matters are summarized below:
In S.E.C. v. Securities Investor Protection
Corp., 758 F.3d 357 (D.C.
Cir. 2014), the Court
of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s denial
of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
(“SEC”) application for an order compelling
SIPC to commence a liquidation of Stanford
Group Company (“SGC”), a SIPC member
broker-dealer. The SEC had asserted that purchasers of certificates of deposit (“CD”) issued
by an offshore Antiguan bank might be eligible
for SIPA protection.
The Antiguan bank was an
affiliate of the broker-dealer. Although, in some
instances, their business had been solicited by
the brokerage, the CD purchasers had voluntarily sent their funds directly to the bank, and
they or their designees had custody of their
CDs. Because the broker-dealer held no cash
or securities for the CD purchasers, a sine qua
non for “customer” status, SIPC declined to
file an application to commence a liquidation
proceeding.
The Court noted that judicial interpretations supported a narrow construction
of the term “customer.” Based on the parties’
stipulations that the CD purchasers sent their
funds directly to the bank and that the SEC was
not asserting that the broker-dealer ever held
the investors’ securities, the Court found that
the SEC had failed to establish entrustment,
an element critical to “customer” status. The
Court also rejected the SEC’s argument that
the bank and brokerage should be substantively consolidated. The SEC contended that
in that circumstance, a deposit with the bank
would constitute a deposit with the brokerage.
The Court disagreed, noting that SIPA excludes from “customer” status any person who
invests in the SIPA debtor by making a loan to
the debtor. In the event of a consolidation, the
CD purchasers would be lenders to the consolidated entity, and not “customers.” The SEC
did not petition the Supreme Court for review.
In an avoidance suit filed by a SIPA Trustee, the Bankruptcy Court in Gilbert v. Goble
(In re North American Clearing, Inc.), 2014
WL 4956848 (Bankr.
M.D. Fla. September 29,
2014), after a six-day trial, entered judgment
in favor of the defendant.
The defendant was
the indirect owner and manager of the debtor.
The Trustee sought to recover from the defendant monthly credit card and other miscellaneous payments for both personal and
business expenses made by the debtor, North
American Clearing, Inc. The Court found that
the transfers were not avoidable because the
debtor received reasonably equivalent value
for its reimbursement of defendant’s valid business expenses and his personal expenses. The
Court determined that these payments were
effectively compensation for defendant’s services.
Additionally, the Court held that it was
unproven that the debtor was in serious financial distress when the transfers occurred.
Litigation in the liquidation of Lehman
Brothers Inc. (“LBI”) and of MF Global Inc.
(“MFGI”) resulted in several significant decisions:
The Bankruptcy Court in Lehman Brothers
Inc., 503 B.R. 778 (Bankr.
S.D.N.Y. 2014),
granted the Trustee’s motion to subordinate
the damages claim of a prime-brokerage customer, and granted the Trustee’s objection to
certain other claims for contribution, finding
that these also were subject to subordination.
The Court agreed with the Trustee’s interpretation of Bankruptcy Code section 510(b), which
mandates subordination of certain claims
related to securities issued by the debtor or
debtor’s affiliate. The Court held that section
510(b) required subordination of claims relating to bonds issued by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
(“LBHI”), LBI’s parent. Thus, a breach
of contract damages claim filed by a prime
brokerage customer based on LBI’s asserted
failure to purchase LBHI bonds, and reimbursement and contribution claims filed by junior
underwriters based on the sale of LBHI bonds,
were both subject to subordination.
In a subsequent appeal, the District Court
in In re Lehman Brothers Inc., 519 B.R. 434
(S.D.N.Y.
2014), affirmed the Bankruptcy
Court’s ruling.
The District Court in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP v. Giddens (In re MF Global Inc.),
505 B.R. 623 (S.D.N.Y.
2014), affirmed the
Bankruptcy Court’s order which granted the
Trustee’s motion to approve his proposed allocation of property and the terms of an advance
of general estate property that would enable
the estate to make a final 100% distribution to
former commodity futures customers. The appellants, individuals and MFGI’s auditor, who
were defendants in a putative class-action suit
filed by MFGI customers (“the Customer Action”), had objected to the agreement among
the Trustee, MFGI customers, and others. The
agreement would allow general estate property to be advanced for payment to customers in return for an assignment to the Trustee
of customers’ claims in the Customer Action.
Recoveries in the Customer Action would be
allocated to the general estate for distribution
to the debtor’s remaining creditors.
The District Court agreed with the Bankruptcy Court
that the Appellants lacked standing to object
to the Bankruptcy Court’s Order because the
order did not affect their “rights to litigate.”
The District Court also held that the Bankruptcy Court’s finding of a shortfall in MFGI’s
commodities customer estate, was based on
an adequate record, and that the Bankruptcy
Court properly permitted the Trustee to accept
the assignment and to proceed as subrogee.
In CarVal Investors UK Ltd. v. Giddens
(In re Lehman Brothers Inc.), 506 B.R.
346
(S.D.N.Y. 2014), the District Court upheld
the decision of the Bankruptcy Court which
affirmed the Trustee’s determination denying appellants’ claims. The District Court
held that the claimants—parties to stock
repurchase agreements with LBI—did not
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 13
.
LITIGATION
continued
establish the fiduciary relationship with LBI
required for claimants to be “customers” under SIPA. Instead, by transferring securities
to LBI in exchange for cash under a series
of long-term repurchase agreements, the
claimants created a contractual relationship
with LBI giving LBI the right to sell, transfer,
pledge, or hypothecate the securities, all of
which it exercised. Because LBI held no securities for claimants on the filing date and
had no legal obligation to do so, LBI was not
“entrusted” with the claimants’ securities.
As counterparties in a sophisticated financial transaction, claimants were not entitled
to recover under SIPA as “customers.” The
matter is on appeal. (2d Cir.
No. 14-890).
In a matter of first impression, the Bankruptcy Court in In re MF Global Inc., 506 B.R.
582 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.
2014), granted in part
and denied in part a claim purchaser’s motion for an order requiring the disclosure and
court approval of fees and expenses of nonattorney professionals hired by the Trustee.
The Bankruptcy Court rejected the claim purchaser’s argument that SIPA and the Bankruptcy Code required the Trustee to seek
court approval of payment to non-attorney
professionals, including accountants and financial consultants. The Court held that SIPA
establishes two separate systems for compensation which require different forms of
oversight—one for the SIPA Trustee and his
counsel which requires Court approval and
one for non-attorney professionals which
does not require Court approval. Congress
granted SIPC exclusive oversight and supervision of the payment of non-attorney
professionals and any payments made by
the Trustee are subject to SIPC’s review and
approval.
However, the Court found that the
Trustee should disclose fees and expenses
of non-attorney professionals to allow the
Court to evaluate the Trustee’s oversight of
non-attorney professionals in its assessment
of the Trustee’s own fees and expenses.
Enough detail of non-attorney professional
fees and expenses should be provided to
allow for a meaningful review of the reasonableness of the Trustee’s fees.
In In re MF Global Inc., 2014 WL 1320094
(Bankr. S.D.N.Y. April 1, 2014), the Bankruptcy
Court granted the Trustee’s motion seeking
an order expunging certain general creditor claims as untimely.
The Bankruptcy Court
held that it did not have the equitable power
to extend the statutory time limit for filing
claims in a SIPA proceeding under 15 U.S.C.
section 78fff-2(a)(3). Even if it had such power,
the Bankruptcy Court found that none of the
claimants established that an extension was
necessary to avoid manifest injustice.
In Barclays Capital Inc., Barclays Bank PLC
v. Giddens (In re Lehman Brothers Holdings
Inc.), 761 F.3d 303 (2d Cir.
2014), the Second
Circuit affirmed the District Court’s order reversing in part and affirming in part the Bankruptcy Court’s decision regarding a dispute
over the sale of the North American business
assets of LBI to Barclays Capital Inc. At issue
were approximately $4 billion maintained by
LBI as collateral for its exchange-traded derivative business (“Margin Assets”) and about $1.9
billion in certain assets in LBI’s clearance boxes
(“Clearance Box Assets”) at the Depository
Trust & Clearing Corporation. The Second Circuit held that the transfer of the Margin Assets
was included in the Asset Purchase Agreement
between the parties.
The Second Circuit also
found that the Trustee was not entitled to the
Clearing Box Assets as the Bankruptcy Court
committed no clear error in assessing multiple
agreements between the parties and extrinsic
evidence where ambiguities were evident. A
petition for issuance of a writ of certiorari has
been filed (S. Ct., No.
14-710).
The liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”) and matters related to it, also resulted in significant decisions:
In Marshall v. Picard, 740 F.3d 81 (2d Cir.
2014), in affirming the decision of the District Court, the Court of Appeals agreed that
the Bankruptcy Court had the power under
14 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
the Bankruptcy Code and the United States
Constitution to enter a permanent injunction
barring claims that were “duplicative or derivative” of those belonging to the Trustee.
The Trustee had settled with the estate of an
alleged co-conspirator of Bernard L.
Madoff
(“Madoff”), and the Bankruptcy Court had
granted a permanent injunction, and barred
appellants’ state-law class-actions against the
same alleged co-conspirator. The Circuit Court
found that the class action claims were “duplicative or derivative” of those asserted by the
Trustee; thus the appellants’ claims were appropriately barred. The appellants had failed
to allege any particularized injuries directly
traceable to the defendants in their state-law
actions.
Rather, the appellants’ state-law claims
were predicated upon “secondary harms” resulting from withdrawals and depletion of
BLMIS funds, the recovery of which was the
subject of the fraudulent conveyance claims
belonging to the Trustee. Because the appellants’ state-law actions were in reality disguised
fraudulent conveyance claims, the Circuit
Court held that the Bankruptcy Court had the
authority to enjoin them.
The District Court in Surabian v. Picard,
2014 WL 917091 (S.D.N.Y.
March 7, 2014),
dismissed for lack of jurisdiction the appeal
of an Order of the Bankruptcy Court denying appellants’ motion to remove the Trustee.
After appellants’ customer claims had been
denied, the appellants moved for removal of
the Trustee. The Bankruptcy Court denied the
motion. The District Court held that the appeal
was untimely, requiring dismissal.
Moreover,
the Bankruptcy Court had not abused its discretion in denying the appellants’ motion to
remove the Trustee. The appellants had failed
to establish cause for removal; the Trustee had
recovered substantial sums for the estate and
was familiar with the consolidated liquidation;
and removal therefore would be “harmful to
efficiency and continuity in the administration
of the estates.”
. “SIPC shall . . . .
impose upon
its members such assessments
as, after consultation with selfregulatory organizations, SIPC
may deem necessary . . .
.”
SIPA, Sec. 4(c)(2)
In consolidated briefing in In re Madoff
Securities, 516 B.R. 18 (S.D.N.Y.
2014), defendants in avoidance and recovery actions
brought by the Trustee moved to dismiss,
arguing that the Trustee failed to plead their
lack of “good faith.” The Trustee contended
that the defendants were sophisticated market
participants, who failed to act in good faith
because they were aware of suspicious circumstances that should have led them to investigate the possibility of the fraud at BLMIS. The
District Court rejected the Trustee’s “inquiry
notice” standard for determining good faith.
Instead, the Court held that the term meant
that the transferee had neither actual knowledge of the fraud nor willfully blinded itself to
circumstances indicating a high probability of
fraud. In the Court’s view, although in ordinary
bankruptcy, good faith may be pled as an affirmative defense under both section 548(c)
and section 550(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code,
SIPA affected the burden of pleading good
faith.
A defendant could succeed on a motion
to dismiss by showing that the complaint did
not plausibly allege that the defendant had not
acted in good faith. The District Court ordered
the cases returned to the Bankruptcy Court for
further proceedings.
The Bankruptcy Court in Picard v. Marshall, 511 B.R.
375 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2014),
granted the Trustee’s motion to enforce
a permanent injunction and to enjoin the
plaintiffs from prosecuting their class action lawsuits against defendants with whom
the Trustee had settled.
In 2011, the Bankruptcy Court, when approving the settlement
agreement between the Trustee and the defendants, issued a permanent injunction enjoining any BLMIS customer or creditor from
asserting any claims duplicative or derivative
of those belonging to the Trustee. After the
Bankruptcy Court enjoined the original class
action suits filed by the plaintiffs as being duplicative and derivative, they filed new complaints in Florida District Court against the
same defendants. The Trustee again moved
to enjoin the suits.
The Bankruptcy Court
held that it was appropriate for it to interpret
the scope of its own permanent Injunction
and the automatic stay and determined that
the new complaints were derivative of claims
belonging to the Trustee.
The District Court in In re Madoff Securities,
513 B.R. 437 (S.D.N.Y. 2014), denied a motion
to dismiss by certain customers whose claims
the Trustee sought to disallow.
The defen-
dants, customers of BLMIS who received less
from their accounts than they invested, filed
claims with the Trustee seeking the remainder
of their principal. The Trustee filed adversary
proceedings against the defendants seeking the return of transfers they received from
BLMIS and disallowance of their net equity
claims pending a return of the transfers. The
Court found that section 502(d) of the Bankruptcy Code, which requires disallowance of a
bankruptcy claim asserted by any creditor that
was the recipient of an avoidable transfer, applies to SIPA customer claims because the provision is not in conflict with SIPA.
Thus, section
502(d) prohibited the payment of net equity
claims until a defendant’s liability for avoidable
transfers was adjudicated and paid.
In In re Madoff Securities, 513 B.R. 222
(S.D.N.Y. 2014), the District Court dismissed
certain of the Trustee’s claims to recover foreign transfers.
The Trustee sought to recover
funds which, after being transferred from
BLMIS to foreign customers, were subsequently transferred to other foreign persons
and entities. The District Court found that
Bankruptcy Code section 550(a)(2), which allows for the recovery from subsequent transferees, does not apply extraterritorially. The
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 15
.
LITIGATION
continued
Court held that the Trustee’s use of section
550(a) was an extraterritorial application because the subsequent transfers and transferees were foreign. The Court found that Congress did not intend for section 550(a)(2) to
apply to purely foreign transfers.
The Second Circuit in Picard v. Fairfield
Greenwich Limited, 762 F.3d 199 (2d Cir.
2014), affirmed the District Court’s rulings dismissing the Trustee’s claims for declaratory and
injunctive relief. The Trustee sought a stay of
the settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought
by investors in four BLMIS feeder funds against
the funds and affiliated persons, and a stay of
the settlement of a suit by the New York Attorney General against a feeder fund and affiliated persons.
The Trustee alleged that the
settlements violated the automatic stay as
the moneys funding the settlements were the
same moneys the Trustee sought to recover in
his avoidance actions against the feeder funds.
The Circuit Court held that the automatic stay
and stay orders issued by the District Court
were inapplicable because the actions did not
involve estate property and were based on
claims independent of the Trustee’s. The Court
also held that the Trustee could not establish
that the settlements would have the required
”immediate adverse economic consequence”
for the BLMIS estate as the Trustee was still
litigating the avoidance actions against the
feeder funds and had yet to obtain judgments.
The Bankruptcy Court in Picard v. Merkin,
515 B.R.
117 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2014), granted
in part and denied in part the defendants’
motions to dismiss the Trustee’s 13-count
complaint.
The Trustee had sued to recover
fraudulent transfers from the defendants, direct or indirect feeder funds that invested in
BLMIS and the persons managing the funds.
The Bankruptcy Court held that, as to some
counts, the Trustee’s complaint failed to meet
the requisite standard of actual knowledge
of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Accordingly, the
“safe harbor” under Bankruptcy Code section 546(e) shielded the defendants as to
those counts. However, the Court held that
the Trustee’s complaint adequately pled willful blindness, at least some subsequent transfers, and a claim for equitable subordination,
and denied dismissal as to those counts.
In In re Bernard L.
Madoff Investment
Securities LLC, 515 B.R. 161 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.
2014), the Bankruptcy Court granted the
Trustee’s motion for an order affirming his determinations denying the claims of claimants
who invested in certain retirement plans.
The
claimants, participants in benefit plans regulated under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 that invested funds with
BLMIS, objected to the Trustee’s denial of
their claims. The Bankruptcy Court held that
the claimants were not “customers” of BLMIS
within the meaning of SIPA. The claimants
failed to establish that they entrusted cash for
the purchase of securities to BLMIS.
The Bankruptcy Court in Picard v.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2014 WL 5106909
(Bankr.
S.D.N.Y. 2014), determined that the
Applicants were not entitled to a partial refund
of their prior settlements. Early in the BLMIS
liquidation, the Trustee and two Bahamian
BLMIS account-holders entered into a settlement agreement whereby the account-holders
agreed to pay 85% of the amounts sought by
the Trustee.
The settlement agreement included an equal treatment provision, requiring the
Trustee to refund a portion of the settlement
if future settlements between the Trustee and
other similar defendants were for a lower percentage. The applicants argued that the Trustee’s settlement of avoidance claims brought
against a bank triggered the equal treatment
clause. After trial, the Court disagreed and
concluded that the later settlement did not
trigger any refund requirement because the
Trustee’s claims in the later suit were significantly different and more difficult to prove than
the claims against the Bahamian companies.
The Bankruptcy Court in In re Bernard L.
Madoff Investment Securities LLC, 522 B.R.
41 (Bankr.
S.D.N.Y. 2014), granted the Trust-
16 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
ee’s motion for an order affirming his methodology for calculating net equity in accounts involving transfers from other BLMIS accounts.
The Court agreed that the Trustee properly
eliminated fictitious profits transferred between accounts, so that the transferees did
not receive credit for any fictitious gains in the
transferors’ accounts. Claimants argued that
the Trustee’s method violated the statutory
two-year reach-back for fraudulent transfers
and improperly combined separate customer
accounts.
The Court disagreed and determined that the Trustee’s methodology did
not avoid transfers, but merely determined
what was transferred, with customer accounts
remaining distinct. The Court also held that it
had the constitutional authority to make final
determinations on all issues required as part
of the claims process, including the calculation of net equity claims.
In Picard v. Ida Fishman Revocable
Trust, 773 F.3d 411 (2d Cir.
2014), the Second Circuit affirmed the ruling of the District Court that section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code shielded payments received
by defendants, BLMIS account holders who
had withdrawn more from their accounts
than they deposited. The Trustee sued
hundreds of BLMIS customers who withdrew more from their accounts than they
invested, thereby profiting from Madoff’s
scheme. The District Court dismissed the
claims concluding that Bankruptcy Code
section 546(e), which provides a safe harbor for certain transfers made by a stockbroker in connection with a securities contract or settlement payment, shielded the
payments from avoidance.
Among other
things, the Circuit Court found the BLMIS
account-opening documents executed by
the investors to be “security contracts” under section 741(7) of the Bankruptcy Code,
and the payments of fictitious profit to the
investors to be “settlement payments” under section 741(8) of the Bankruptcy Code,
all within the scope of section 546(e).
. DISCIPLINARY
AND CRIMINAL
ACTIONS
SIPC routinely forwards to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, for possible action under Section 14(b) of SIPA, the
names of principals and others associated with members for which
SIPC customer protection proceedings have been initiated. Those
individuals are also reported to the self-regulatory organization
exercising primary examining authority for appropriate action
by the organization. Trustees appointed to administer customer
protection proceedings and SIPC personnel cooperate with the
SEC and with law enforcement authorities in their investigations
of possible violations of law.
Criminal and Administrative Actions
Criminal actions have been initiated in 130 of the 328 SIPC proceedings commenced since enactment of the Securities Investor Protection Act in December 1970. A total of 312 indictments
have been returned in federal or state courts, resulting in 272 convictions to date.
Administrative and/or criminal actions in 287 of the 328 SIPC customer protection proceedings initiated through December 31, 2014, were accomplished as follows:
Action Initiated
Number of Proceedings
Joint SEC/Self-Regulatory Administrative Actions
60
Exclusive SEC Administrative Actions
41
Exclusive Self-Regulatory Administrative Actions
56
Criminal and Administrative Actions
103
Criminal Actions Only
27
Total 287
In the 260 customer protection proceedings in which administrative actions have been
effected, the following sanctions have been imposed against associated persons:
SEC
Self-Regulatory
Organizations
Notice of Suspension1 117 114
Bar from Association
Fines
353
Not Applicable
234
$11,733,781
Suspensions by self-regulatory authorities ranged from five days to a maximum of ten years.
Those imposed by the SEC ranged from five days to a maximum of one year.
Bars against associated persons included exclusion from the securities business as well as
bars from association in a principal or supervisory capacity.
The $11,733,781 in fines assessed by self-regulatory authorities were levied against 130
associated persons and ranged from $250 to $1,600,000.
Members In or Approaching
Financial Difficulty
Section 5(a)(1) of SIPA requires the SEC or
the self-regulatory organizations to immediately notify SIPC upon discovery of facts
which indicate that a broker or dealer subject to their regulation is in or is approaching financial difficulty.
The Commission, the
securities exchanges and the FINRA fulfill
this requirement through regulatory procedures which integrate examination and
reporting programs with an early-warning
procedure for notifying SIPC. The primary
objective of those programs is the early
identification of members which are in or
are approaching financial or operational
difficulty and the initiation of remedial action by the regulators necessary to protect
the investing public.
Members on Active Referral
During the calendar year 2014 SIPC received
no new referrals under Section 5(a).
SIPC received periodic reports from the
self-regulatory organizations identifying those
members which, although not considered to
be in or approaching financial difficulty, had
failed to meet certain pre-established financial or operational criteria and were under
closer-than-normal surveillance.
__________
1
N
otices of suspension include those issued in conjunction with subsequent bars from association.
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 17
. . . SIPC
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 2014
ASSETS
Cash
$
U.S. Government securities, at fair value and accrued interest receivable of $13,463,956; (amortized cost $2,084,850,276) (Note 6)
9,647,272
2,143,138,801
Estimated member assessments receivable (Note 3)
196,146,678
Advances to trustees for customer protection proceedings in progress, less allowance for possible losses ($1,818,629,630) (Note 4)
11,300,000
Assets held for deferred compensation plan (Note 8)
935,588
Other (Note 5 and Note 9)
1,755,785
$2,362,924,124
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
Accrued benefit costs (Note 8)
$
6,259,043
Amount due on deferred compensation plan (Note 8)
935,588
Accounts payable and other accrued expenses
873,044
Deferred rent (Note 5)
Estimated costs to complete customer protection proceedings in progress (Note 4)
Member assessments received in advance (Note 3)
Net assets
87,147
898,600,000
2,289,512
909,044,334
1,453,879,790
$2,362,924,124
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
Statement of Activities for the year ended December 31, 2014
Revenues:
Member assessments (Note 3)
Interest on U.S. Government securities
$ 426,719,980
40,013,022
466,733,002
Expenses:
Salaries and employee benefits (Note 8)
8,563,289
Legal and accounting fees (Note 4)
240,209
Rent (Note 5)
797,186
Other 3,198,601
12,799,285
Provision for estimated costs to complete customer protection proceedings in progress (Note 4)
146,645,759
159,445,044
Excess of revenues over expenses
307,287,958
Realized and unrealized loss on U.S. Government securities (Note 6)
Pension and postretirement benefit changes other than net periodic costs (Note 8)
Increase in net assets
Net assets, beginning of year
Net assets, end of year
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
20 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
(5,281,585)
(10,755,619)
291,250,754
1,162,629,036
$1,453,879,790
.
Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2014
Operating activities:
Interest received from U.S. Government securities
$ 43,793,529
Member assessments received
431,288,780
Advances paid to trustees
(211,477,196)
Recoveries of advances
11,717,502
Salaries and other operating activities expenses paid
(12,906,141)
Net cash provided by operating activities
262,416,474
Investing activities:
Proceeds from sales of U.S. Government securities
368,990,693
Purchases of U.S. Government securities
(647,463,361)
Purchases of furniture and equipment
(748,401)
Net cash used in investing activities
(279,221,069)
Decrease in cash
(16,804,595)
Cash, beginning of year
26,451,867
Cash, end of year
$
9,647,272
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
Notes to Financial Statements
1.
Organization and general
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) was created by the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 (SIPA),
which was enacted on December 30, 1970,
primarily for the purpose of providing protection to customers of its members. SIPC
is a nonprofit membership corporation and
shall have succession until dissolved by an
Act of Congress. Its members include all
persons registered as brokers or dealers
under Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except for those persons excluded under SIPA.
SIPC is exempt from income taxes under 15
U.S.C.
§ 78kkk(e) of SIPA and under § 501(c)(6)
of the Internal Revenue Code. Accordingly, no
provision for income taxes is required.
The preparation of financial statements
in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States
of America requires management to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the
amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
2.
he “SIPC Fund” and SIPC’s resources
T
The “SIPC Fund,” as defined by SIPA, consists of cash and U.S. Government securities
aggregating $2,152,786,073.
In the event the SIPC Fund is or may reasonably appear to be insufficient for the purposes
of SIPA, the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) is authorized to make loans
to SIPC and, in that connection, the Commission is authorized to issue notes or other obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury in an
aggregate amount not to exceed $2.5 billion.
3. Member assessments
Section 78ddd(c) and (d) of SIPA states that
SIPC shall, by bylaw, impose upon its members such assessments as, after consultation
with self-regulatory organizations, SIPC may
deem necessary and appropriate to establish
and maintain the fund and to repay any borrowings by SIPC.
If the balance of the fund
aggregates less than $100,000,000, SIPC shall
impose upon each of its members an assessment at a rate of not less than one-half of 1
per centum per annum. An assessment may be
made at a rate in excess of one-half of 1 per
centum if SIPC determines, in accordance with
a bylaw, that such rate of assessment will not
have a material adverse effect on the financial
condition of its members or their customers,
except that no assessments shall exceed one
per centum of such member’s gross revenues
from the securities business.
Effective April 1, 2009, each member’s
assessment was established by bylaw at
the rate of one-quarter of 1 per centum of
net operating revenues from the securities
business or $150, whichever was greater.
Effective July 22, 2010, the $150 minimum
assessment was eliminated by the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 21
. SECURITIES
SIPC
INVESTOR
FINANCIAL
PROTECTION
STATEMENTS
CORPORATION
continued
continued
Protection Act. Assessments received in
advance will be applied to future assessments
and are not refundable except to terminated
members. Estimated member assessments
receivable represents assessments on
members’ revenue for calendar 2014 but not
received until 2015.
4. Customer protection proceedings
SIPC commenced a liquidation of Lehman
Brothers Inc.
(LBI) on September 19, 2008.
As of December 31, 2014, the estate had
received 124,248 customer claims. 110,920
of these claims, totaling $92.3 billion and
including nearly all of LBI’s former “retail”
customers, received 100 percent recoveries
through account transfers within days of the
commencement of the liquidation. Distributions to all other allowed customer claimants
are expected to result in 100 percent satisfaction of all allowed customer claims.
As of December 31, 2014, the Trustee had distributed
$13.4 billion to these customers.
In June 2013, the Trustee repaid in full all
SIPC advances.
In the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC proceeding, the Trustee, utilizing the
customer records available from the computer
files of the firm, identified those accounts be-
lieved to be valid customers. In accordance
with Section 78lll (2) of SIPA, the definition
of a “customer” includes a “person who had
deposited cash with the debtor for the purpose of purchasing securities.” The customer
can be an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a pension plan or a “feeder fund.” The
Trustee then calculated the “net cash” positions (cash deposited less cash withdrawn) for
each customer’s account and, where available,
this information was compared to other source
documentation including banking records and
customer portfolio files.
Based on that valuation, the Trustee determined the customer’s
net equity and maximum claim allowed under
SIPA. Including administrative costs, management estimates that the total charges to SIPC
for this case to be approximately $2.7 billion.
As actual claims were processed, the Trustee
determined the ultimate amount of payment
for each claim. Claims can be disputed, which
among other factors, could cause the ultimate
amount of the claims to differ from the current
estimate.
Any changes in the estimate will be
accounted for prospectively.
SIPC commenced a liquidation of MF
Global Inc. on October 31, 2011. As of
December 31, 2014, the estate had received
430 customer claims under SIPA; the total
allowed value of securities claims and related
settlements is approximately $376 million.
MF Global Inc.
also operated as a Futures
Commission Merchant (FCM). Claims for
FCM property are separate from the abovereferenced securities claims.
In 2013, the Trustee repaid all SIPC advances and estimates that no funds would be
required from SIPC for customers or administrative expenses.
SIPC has advanced a net of $1.83 billion for proceedings in progress to carry out
its statutory obligation to satisfy customer
claims and to pay administration expenses.
Of this amount, $1.82 billion is not expected
to be recovered.
Customer payments and related expenses of direct payment proceedings are
recorded as expenses as they are incurred.
Legal and accounting fees include fees and
expenses of litigation related to proceedings.
These financial statements do not include
accountability for assets and liabilities of members being liquidated by SIPC as Trustee. Such
accountability is reflected in reports required
to be filed with the courts having jurisdiction.
The following table summarizes transactions during the year ended December 31,
2014 that result from these proceedings:
Customer Protection Proceedings
Advances to trustees,
less allowance for possible losses
Balance, beginning of year
Estimated costs to complete
$10,800,000
$948,000,000
Add:
Provision for current year recoveries
Provision for estimated future recoveries
Provision for estimated costs to complete proceedings
900,000
—
11,300,000
—
—
158,900,000
Less:
Recoveries
Advances to trustees
Balance, end of year
22 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
11,700,000 —
—
208,300,000
$11,300,000
$898,600,000
.
5. Commitments
Future minimum rentals for office space, in
Washington, D.C., under a ten-year lease,
expiring August 31, 2015, total $417,491,
as of December 31, 2014. Additional rent
expense is based on SIPC’s pro rata share
of operating expenses in accordance with
the terms of the lease. The rent holiday of
$41,567 and the leasehold improvement
incentive of $345,300 are being amortized
over the life of the lease.
As of December 31,
2014, the unamortized balances are $2,770
and $23,022, respectively.
On December 27, 2012, SIPC renewed
its lease for additional office space in
Fairfax, Virginia. The new seven-year
lease commenced on August 1, 2013.
Future minimum rentals for the space,
expiring on July 31, 2020, are as follows: 2015 - $145,103; 2016 - $149,094;
2017 - $153,194; 2018 - $157,407, 2019
- $161,735; thereafter - $95,842; for a total of $862,375, as of December 31, 2014.
Additional rent expense is based on SIPC’s
pro rata share of operating expenses in accordance with the terms of the lease.
On June 20, 2014, SIPC signed a lease
for new office space in Washington, D.C.
The new 11-year lease commences on August 1, 2015. Future minimum rentals for
the space, expiring on July 31, 2026, are
as follows: 2015 - zero; 2016 - $734,957;
2017 - $827,918; 2018 - $848,611; 2019 $869,805; thereafter - $6,781,932; for a total
of $10,063,223, as of December 31, 2014.
Additional rent expense is based on SIPC’s
pro rata share of operating expenses in accordance with the terms of the lease.
The
rent holiday of $915,103 and the leasehold
improvement incentive of $1,364,400 are
being amortized over the life of the lease.
6. Fair value of securities
SIPC adopted guidance that defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring
fair value, establishes a fair value hierarchy
based on the inputs used to measure fair
value and enhances disclosure requirements
for fair value measurements. The guidance
maximizes the use of observable inputs and
minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by
requiring that the observable inputs be used
when available.
Observable inputs are inputs that market
participants would use in pricing the asset or
liability based on market data obtained from
independent sources.
Unobservable inputs
reflect assumptions that market participants
would use in pricing the asset or liability
based on the best information available in
the circumstances. The hierarchy is broken
down into three levels based on the transparency of inputs as follows:
Level 1—Quoted prices are available in
active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the report date. A quoted
price for an identical asset or liability in
an active market provides the most reliable fair value measurement because it is
directly observable to the market.
Level 2—Pricing inputs are other than
quoted prices in active markets, which are
either directly or indirectly observable as
of the report date.
The nature of these
securities includes investments for which
quoted prices are available but traded less
frequently and investments that are fair
valued using other securities, the parameters of which can be directly observed.
Level 3—Securities that have little to
no pricing observability as of the report
date. These securities are measured using management’s best estimate of fair
value, where the inputs into the determination of fair value are not observable
and require significant management
judgment or estimation.
Inputs are used in applying the various
valuation techniques and broadly refer to
the assumptions that market participants
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 23
. SIPC
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
continued
use to make valuation decisions, including
assumptions about risk. Inputs may include
price information, volatility statistics, specific
and broad credit data, liquidity statistics, and
other factors. A financial instrument’s level
within the fair value hierarchy is based on the
lowest level of any input that is significant to
the fair value measurement. However, the determination of what constitutes “observable”
requires significant judgment by the entity.
SIPC considers observable data to be
that market data that is readily available,
regularly distributed or updated, reliable
and verifiable, not proprietary, and provided by independent sources that are actively
involved in the relevant market.
The categorization of a financial instrument within
the hierarchy is based upon the pricing
transparency of the instrument and does
not necessarily correspond to the entity’s
perceived risk of that instrument.
The fair value of the U.S. Government
securities is based on the bid quote as
of December 31, 2014 as reported in the
Wall Street Journal. As a bid quote on U.S.
Government securities varies substantially
among market makers, the fair value bid
quote is considered a Level 2 input under
the guidance.
Level 2 inputs include quoted
prices for similar assets in active markets,
quoted prices for identical or similar assets
in markets where there isn’t sufficient activity,
and/or where price quotations vary substantially either over time or among market makers, or in which little information is released
publicly. As of December 31, 2014, all securities held within the portfolio are priced using
Level 2 inputs.
U.S. Government securities as of December 31, 2014 included cumulative gross unrealized gains of $58,637,435 and cumulative
gross unrealized losses of $348,910.
7.
Reconciliation of Increase in net assets to net cash provided by operating activities:
Increase in net assets
$291,250,754
Net amortized discount on U.S. Government securities
5,000,962
Realized and unrealized loss on U.S. Government securities
5,281,585
Depreciation and amortization
766,894
Loss on disposal of assets
115,076
Decrease in estimated assessment receivable
Net increase in estimated recoveries of advances to trustees
Increase in accrued interest receivable on U.S.
Government securities
3,688,800
(500,000)
(1,220,453)
Decrease in prepaid expenses
8,118,624
Decrease in payables and accrued expenses
(1,484,072)
Decrease in deferred rent
Net decrease in estimated cost to complete customer protection proceedings
Increase in member assessments collected in advance
Net cash provided by operating activities
24 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
(81,696)
(49,400,000)
880,000
$262,416,474
. 8. Pensions and other postretirement benefits
SIPC has a noncontributory defined benefit
plan and a contributory defined contribution plan which cover all employees. SIPC
also has a supplemental non-qualified retirement plan for certain employees. The
$935,588 year-end market value of the
supplemental plan is reflected as deferred
compensation assets and as a deferred
compensation liability in the Statement of
Financial Position.
In addition, SIPC has
two defined benefit postretirement plans
that cover all employees. One plan provides medical and dental insurance benefits, and the other provides life insurance
benefits. The postretirement health care
plan is contributory, with retiree contributions adjusted annually to reflect changes
in gross premiums; the life insurance plan is
noncontributory.
SIPC is required to recognize the overfunded or underfunded status of the defined
benefit plans as an asset or liability in the
Statement of Financial Position and to recognize the funded status in the year in which
the change occurs through the Statement
of Activities.
In addition, SIPC is required to
recognize within the Statement of Activities
gains and losses due to differences between
actuarial assumptions and actual experience
and any effects on prior service due to plan
amendments that arise during the period
and which are not being recognized as net
periodic benefit costs.
Pension Benefits
Benefit obligation at beginning of year
Other Postretirement Benefits
$34,606,875
$ 4,484,549
Service cost
1,012,372
167,936
Interest cost
1,633,524
217,644
Plan participants’ contributions
—
20,065
Amendments
— —
Actuarial loss
9,553,451
1,313,385
Benefits paid
(1,016,412)
(88,937)
$45,789,810
$ 6,114,642
Benefit obligation at end of year
Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year
$43,006,599
Actual return on plan assets
$
3,655,222
—
—
Employer contributions prior to measurement date
—
—
Employer contributions
—
68,872
Plan participants’ contributions
—
20,065
(1,016,412)
Benefits paid
(88,937)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year
$45,645,409
$
Funded status
$
(144,401)
$ (6,114,642)
—
—
$
(144,401)
$ (6,114,642)
Net amount recognized in the Statement of Financial Position
$
(144,401)
$ (6,114,642)
Accumulated benefit obligation end of year
$43,523,235
$ 6,114,642
Employer contributions between measurement and statement date
Funded status at year end
—
Amounts recognized in the Statement of Financial Position and net assets consist of:
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 25
. SIPC
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
continued
Pension Benefits
Other Postretirement Benefits
Weighted-average assumptions for disclosure as of December 31, 2014
Discount rate
3.90%
4.00%
Salary scale
2.50%
N/A
Health Care Cost Trend: Initial pre-65/post-65
N/A
8.05%/6.30%
Health Care Cost Trend: Ultimate
N/A
5.00%
Year ultimate reached
N/A
2022
Components of net periodic benefit cost and other amounts recognized within the Statement of Activities
Net periodic benefit cost
Service cost
$1,012,372
$ 167,936
Interest cost
1,633,524
217,644
Expected return on plan assets
(3,182,637)
—
Recognized prior service cost (credit)
37,292
(398,660)
Recognized actuarial loss
—
—
Net periodic benefit cost
(499,449)
(13,080)
9,080,866
1,313,385
Recognized actuarial loss
—
—
Prior service cost
—
—
(37,292)
398,660
9,043,574
1,712,045
$8,544,125
$1,698,965
$ 629,421
$
Pension and other postretirement benefit changes other than net periodic benefit cost
Net actuarial loss
Recognized prior service (cost) credit
Total pension and postretirement benefit changes other than net periodic benefit cost
Total net periodic other benefit cost and pension and other postretirement benefit changes
other than net periodic benefit cost
Amounts expected to be recognized in net periodic benefit cost in the coming year
Loss recognition
Prior service cost (credit) recognition
79,986
37,292
(398,660)
$ 666,713
$ (318,674)
Benefit obligation
N/A
$1,213,235
Total service interest cost
N/A
$
Benefit obligation
N/A
$ (942,887)
Total service interest cost
N/A
$
Total
Effect of a 1% increase in trend on:
89,718
Effect of a 1% decrease in trend on:
(55,541)
Weighted-average assumptions for net periodic benefit cost as of December 31, 2014
Discount rate
Expected asset return
4.80%
4.90%
7.50%
N/A
2.00%/2.50%
N/A
Health Care Cost Trend: Initial pre-65/post-65
N/A
8.65%/6.50%
Health Care Cost Trend: Ultimate
N/A
5.00%
Year ultimate reached
N/A
2022
Salary scale (2.00% for 2014/2.50% for 2015)
26 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
. For the pension plan, the change in unrecognized net gain/loss is one measure
of the degree to which important assumptions have coincided with actual experience. During 2014, the unrecognized net
loss increased by approximately 26% of the
12/31/2013 projected benefit obligation primarily due to the decrease in discount rate
and the adoption of new mortality tables.
The discount rate was determined by
projecting the plan’s expected future benefit
payments as defined for the projected ben-
efit obligation, discounting those expected
payments using a theoretical zero-coupon
spot yield curve derived from a universe of
high-quality bonds as of the measurement
date, and solving for the single equivalent discount rate that resulted in the same projected
benefit obligation. A 1% increase/(decrease)
in the discount rate would have (decreased)/
increased the net periodic benefit cost for
2014 by ($87,000)/$296,000 and (decreased)/
increased the year-end projected benefit obligation by ($6.2)/$7.2 million.
Asset Summary
Quoted Prices in Active
Markets for Identical
Assets (Level 1)
Asset Category
Equity securities:
U.S. large and multi-cap mutual funds
$25,239,923
Non-U.S.
large and multi-cap mutual funds
5,334,355
Total Equity
30,574,278
Fixed Income securities:
U.S. Treasuries/Government & corporate bond mutual funds
15,071,131
Total Fixed Income
15,071,131
Total
$45,645,409
Expected Return on Assets
The expected return on the pension plan assets was determined based on historical and expected future returns of the various asset classes using the
target allocations described below. A 1% increase/(decrease) in the expected return assumption would have (decreased)/increased the net periodic
benefit cost for 2014 by $424,000.
Investment Policy
The plan’s investment policy includes a mandate to diversify assets and in a variety of asset classes to achieve that goal.
The plan’s assets are currently
invested in a variety of funds representing most standard equity and debt security classes.
Pension Plan Asset Category
Expected
Long-Term
Return
Target Allocation
Actual Allocation
12/31/2014
Equity securities
9.30%
60–70%
67%
Debt securities
4.20%
40–30%
33%
Total
7.50%
100%
100%
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 27
. SIPC
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
continued
Estimated Future Benefit Payments
Estimated future benefit payments, including future benefit accrual
Pension
Other Benefits
2015
$ 1,208,120
$
2016
$ 1,453,945
$ 114,100
88,000
2017
$ 1,856,146
$ 143,700
2018
$ 1,992,426
$ 165,300
2019
$ 2,112,278
$ 181,200
2020–2024
$12,860,277
$1,366,800
Contributions
SIPC expects to make no contributions to the pension plan in 2015 for the 2014 plan year and $88,000 to the postretirement benefit plan during 2015.
Defined Contribution Plan
SIPC contributions (60% of employee contributions, up to 3.6% of compensation)
$ 209,231
9. Fixed Assets
10. Subsequent Events
SIPC’s policy is to capitalize fixed assets costing $500 or more, and to depreciate those assets using a straight-line depreciation method
of five years for equipment and ten years for
furniture. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of their economic life or
the term of the lease.
The equipment, furniture, and leaseholds listed below are included
in “Other” assets within the Statement of Financial Position.
SIPC evaluated its December 31, 2014 financial statements for subsequent events
through April 14, 2015, the date the financial
statements were available to be issued. SIPC
is not aware of any subsequent events which
would require recognition or disclosure in
the financial statements.
Fixed Assets
Office equipment at cost
$
63,649
Computer hardware at cost
2,416,986
Computer software at cost
1,708,938
Office furniture and fixtures at cost
Leasehold improvements at cost
Total fixed assets at cost
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization
Net fixed assets
2014 depreciation and amortization expense
28 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
421,288
580,268
5,191,129
(3,626,215)
$1,564,914
$ 766,894
. SIPC FUND
COMPARISON
TABLE 5
SIPC Fund Comparison
Inception to December 31, 2014
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
Billions of Dollars
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14
Year
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 29
. APPENDIX 1
DISTRIBUTIONS FOR
ACCOUNTS OF CUSTOMERS
for the Forty-Four Years
Ended December 31, 2014
(In Thousands of Dollars)
From Debtor’s Estates
As Reported by Trustees
From SIPC
Advances*
Recoveries*
Net
Total
1971
$
271
$
401
$
401
$
672
1972
9,300
7,347
$
(4)
7,343
16,643
1973
170,672
35,709
(4,003)
31,706
202,378
1974
21,582
4,903
(5,125)
(222)
21,360
1975
6,379
6,952
(2,206)
4,746
11,125
1976
19,901
1,292
(528)
764
20,665
1977
5,462
2,255
(2,001)
254
5,716
1978
1,242
4,200
(1,682)
2,518
3,760
1979
9,561
1,754
(6,533)
(4,779)
4,782
1980
10,163
3,846
(998)
2,848
13,011
1981
36,738
64,311
(1,073)
63,238
99,976
1982
28,442
13,807
(4,448)
9,359
37,801
1983
21,901
52,927
(15,789)
37,138
59,039
1984
184,910
11,480
(13,472)
(1,992)
182,918
1985
180,973
19,400
(11,726)
7,674
188,647
1986
28,570
14,886
(4,414)
10,472
39,042
1987
394,443
20,425
(2,597)
17,828
412,271
1988
72,052
8,707
(10,585)
(1,878)
70,174
1989
121,958
(5,481)
(10,244)
(15,725)
106,233
1990
301,237
3,960
(4,444)
(484)
300,753
1991
1,943
6,234
(2,609)
3,625
5,568
1992
34,634
7,816
(230)
7,586
42,220
1993
115,881
4,372
(9,559)
(5,187)
110,694
1994 (14,882)# (1,283) (3,829) (5,112) (19,994)
1995
585,756
17,850
(4,196)
13,654
599,410
1996
4,770
(1,491)
(10,625)
(12,116)
(7,346)
1997
314,813
22,366
(4,527)
17,839
332,652
1998
3,605
4,458
(1,571)
2,887
6,492
1999
477,635
47,360
(7,460)
39,900
517,535
2000
364,065
26,330
(3,413)
22,917
386,982
2001
10,110,355
200,967
(87,538)
113,429
10,223,784
2002
606,593
40,785
(5,812)
34,973
641,566
2003 (643,242)#
22,729
(4,425)
18,304
(624,938)
2004
209,025
(11,662)# (37,700) (49,362) 159,663
2005 (24,245)#
1,175
(4,342)
(3,167)
(27,412)
2006
1,635,006
2,653
(51,942)
(49,289)
1,585,717
2007
1,167
7,054
(6,624)
430
1,597
2008
144,265,058
1,982
(709)
1,273
144,266,331
2009 (52,025,582)@
543,280
(213)
543,067
(51,482,515)
2010
579,035
217,842
(1,824)
216,018
795,053
2011
8,169,689
32,678
(94)
32,584
8,202,273
2012 3,217,290 19,338 (1,774) 17,564 3,234,854
2013 12,411,307
8,646 (118,084) (109,438) 12,301,869
2014
924,822 16,099 (11,709) 4,390 929,212
$132,950,255
$1,510,659
$(482,681)
$1,027,978
* Advances and recoveries not limited to cases initiated this year.
#
Reflects adjustment to customer distributions based upon Trustee’s revised allocation.
@
R
eflects adjustment to customer distributions in the Lehman Brothers Inc. customer protection proceeding based upon Trustee’s revised allocation.
30 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
$133,978,233
. APPENDIX 2
ANALYSIS OF SIPC
REVENUES AND EXPENSES
for the Five Years Ended
December 31, 2014
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
Revenues:
Member assessments and contributions
$426,719,980
$417,721,699
$412,305,529
$382,800,000
$ 409,200,016
Interest on U.S. Government securities
39,852,719
38,577,719
39,995,610
39,412,362
38,160,886
Interest on assessments
160,303
161,223
149,872
420,086
170,336
466,733,002 456,460,641 452,451,011 422,632,448 447,531,238
Expenses:
Salaries and employee benefits
8,563,289
10,146,315
9,993,350
9,171,655
8,254,272
Legal fees
131,219
953,722
1,536,663
813,634
346,375
Accounting fees
108,990
104,227
109,600
295,049
331,901
Credit agreement commitment fee
83,330
Professional fees—other
346,600
863,160
741,567
842,302
309,931
Other:
Assessment collection cost
24,975
18,788
19,390
17,735
29,679
Depreciation and amortization
766,894
772,156
727,440
608,873
273,758
Directors’ fees and expenses
37,039
46,281
38,907
39,275
42,470
Insurance
36,906 36,324 30,710 38,305 35,529
Investor education
211,481
332,318
179,368
200,303
342,766
Office supplies and expense
261,362
154,917
200,347
184,497
164,894
EDP and internet expenses*
857,370
860,990
1,446,889
1,937,200
1,515,375
Postage
9,258 9,350 12,520 10,154 13,164
Printing & mailing annual report
28,921
37,471
37,636
38,153
38,443
Publications and reference services
232,080
180,428
179,340
165,018
156,760
Rent—office space
797,186
758,128
738,916
751,955
747,231
Telephone
100,494 113,849 103,141 108,704 104,201
Travel and subsistence
136,704
149,809
155,444
164,691
223,391
Personnel recruitment
114,580
152,400
46,000
Miscellaneous
33,937 59,684 47,218 39,645 74,236
3,649,187 3,530,493 4,069,666 4,304,508 3,807,897
12,799,285 15,597,917 16,450,846 15,427,148 13,133,706
Customer protection proceedings:
Net advances to (recoveries from):
Trustees other than SIPC:
Securities
(68,428) (106,909,317) 19,231,225
30,396,107
212,738,676
Cash
(1,763) (3,514,070) (1,651,432) 2,289,553
213,380
(70,191) (110,423,387) 17,579,793
32,685,660
212,952,056
Administration expenses
191,521,565
198,575,637
209,774,526
207,826,006
177,227,833
191,451,374 88,152,250 227,354,319 240,511,666 390,179,889
Net change in estimated future recoveries
(500,000)
102,200,000
(111,300,000)
(1,700,000)
1,900,000
190,951,374 190,352,250 116,054,319 238,811,666 392,079,889
SIPC as Trustee:
Securities
3,651,561 669,354 (4,921) (205,638)
(1,689)
Cash
808,448 211,774 (10,402) 91,407 (24,211)
4,460,009 881,128 (15,323) (114,231) (25,900)
Administration expenses
633,401
800,084
5,283
24,427
(8,586)
5,093,410 1,681,212
(10,040)
(89,804)
(34,486)
Direct payments:
Securities
Cash 103,714 12,584
103,714 12,584
Administration expenses
975
12,715
21,301
975 116,429 33,885
Net change in estimated cost to complete proceedings (49,400,000)
(167,500,000)
(192,300,000)
36,800,000
314,100,000
146,645,759 24,649,891 (76,255,721) 275,555,747 706,145,403
159,445,044 40,247,808 (59,804,875) 290,982,895 719,279,109
Total net revenues (expenses)
307,287,958
416,212,833
512,255,886
131,649,553
(271,747,871)
Realized and unrealized (loss) gain
on U.S. Government securities
(5,281,585)
(52,663,109)
(14,309,673)
57,481,554
32,321,095
Pension and other postretirement benefit changes
other than net periodic benefit costs
(10,755,619)
14,850,300
390,854
(7,777,611)
(280,274)
Increase (decrease) in net assets
$291,250,754
$378,400,024
$498,337,067
$181,353,496
$(239,707,050)
*2010–2011 have been restated to combine Imaging expense with EDP and internet expenses
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 31
. APPENDIX 3
CUSTOMER
PROTECTION
PROCEEDINGS
PART A: Customer Claims and Distributions Being Processed(a)
Customers(b)
To Whom
Notices and
Claim Forms
Were Mailed
Customers(b)
Receiving
Distributions
Date Registered
as Broker-Dealer
Filing
Date
Trustee
Appointed
North American Clearing Inc.
Longwood, FL
(Robert N. Gilbert, Esq.)
11/15/95
05/27/08
07/28/08
43,383
1,699
3,000
Lehman Brothers Inc.
New York, NY
(James W. Giddens, Esq.)
03/27/65
09/19/08
09/19/08
905,000
124,248
111,850
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC
New York, NY
(Irving H.
Picard, Esq.)
01/19/60
12/11/08
12/15/08
8,110
16,519*
2,673
MF Global Inc.
New York, NY
(James W. Giddens, Esq.)
07/31/74
10/31/11
10/31/11
74,763
28,711
30,092
Westor Capital Group, Inc.
New York, NY
(SIPC)
09/27/00
04/16/13
04/16/13
499
140
89
TWS Financial, LLC
Brooklyn, NY
(SIPC)
03/09/04
05/31/13
05/31/13
2,272
75
1,034,027
171,392
Member and Trustee
By Date of Appointment
TOTAL 6 MEMBERS: PART A
*
Includes duplicate claims filed for 3,385 Active Accounts.
#
Responses
Received
(b)
T
his number does not include customer distributions made by the court appointed receiver prior to SIPC’s involvement in the proceeding.
M
F Global Inc. operated as a Futures Commission Merchant and a broker-dealer.
The distribution amount includes assets distributed to commodities customers.
32 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
12
147,716
. December 31, 2014
Distribution of Assets
Held by Debtor(c)
Total
$
54,684,317 $
SIPC Advances
For Accounts
of Customers
Administration
Expenses
52,476,581 $
#
2,207,736
Total
Advanced
$
13,457,790
Administration
Expenses
$
106,906,674,226
105,699,214,348
5,290,028,051
5,266,723,375
6,596,523,951
Contractual
Commitments
Securities
11,857,790
Cash
$ 1,600,000
6,284,868,853 311,655,098
5,104,350
1,207,459,878
23,304,676
1,809,671,263
1,104,261,123
$ 705,410,140
5,104,350
1,308,115
572,748
735,367
5,040,100
810,403
3,947,297
282,400
$118,853,014,895 $117,308,387,507 $1,544,627,388
$1,829,477,269
$1,117,502,065
$709,357,437
$2,617,767
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 33
. APPENDIX 3
CUSTOMER
PROTECTION
PROCEEDINGS
continued
PART B: Customer Claims Satisfied, Litigation Matters Pending(a)
Customers(b)
To Whom
Notices and
Claim Forms
Were Mailed
Customers(b)
Receiving
Distributions
Date Registered
as Broker-Dealer
Filing
Date
Trustee
Appointed
Hudson Valley Capital Management
Croton-on-Hudson, NY
(SIPC)
05/12/89
12/17/12
12/17/12
347
27
Take Charge Financial, Inc.
Los Gatos, CA
(Direct Payment)
09/20/85
01/08/13^
156
31
26
503
58
30
Member and Trustee
By Date of Appointment
TOTAL 2 MEMBERS: PART B
^
D
ate Notice Published
34 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
Responses
Received
(b)
4
. December 31, 2014
Distribution of Assets
Held by Debtor(c)
Total
$ 424,017
For Accounts
of Customers
$ 404,369
SIPC Advances
Administration
Expenses
$ 19,648
Total
Advanced
$ 452,362
Administration
Expenses
Contractual
Commitments
$ 50,000
Securities
$ 381,458
Cash
$
20,904
117,404 13,690 103,714
$424,017
$404,369
$19,648
$569,766
$63,690
$381,458
$124,618
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 35
. APPENDIX 3
CUSTOMER
PROTECTION
PROCEEDINGS
continued
PART C: Proceedings Completed in 2014(a)
Member and Trustee
By Date of Appointment
Date Registered
as Broker-Dealer
Filing
Date
Trustee
Appointed
Customers(b)
To Whom
Notices and
Claim Forms
Were Mailed
Responses
Received
(b)
Customers(b)
Receiving
Distributions
TOTAL 0 MEMBERS 2014
TOTAL 320 MEMBERS 1973–2013(d)
2,176,414
447,156
625,256
TOTAL 320 MEMBERS 1973–2014
2,176,414
447,156
625,256
36 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
. December 31, 2014
Distribution of Assets
Held by Debtor(c)
Total
For Accounts
of Customers
SIPC Advances
Administration
Expenses
Total
Advanced
Administration
Expenses
Contractual
Commitments
Securities
Cash
$15,965,955,473
$15,641,462,722
$324,492,751 $513,286,998 $197,790,355 $1,388,427 $182,996,536
$131,111,680
$15,965,955,473 $15,641,462,722
$324,492,751
$513,286,998
$197,790,355
$1,388,427
$182,996,536
$131,111,680
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 37
. APPENDIX 3
CUSTOMER
PROTECTION
PROCEEDINGS
continued
PART D: Summary
Customers(b)
To Whom
Notices and
Claim Forms
Were Mailed
Responses
Received
(b)
Customers(b)
Receiving
Distributions
Part A: 6 Members — Customer Claims and Distributions Being Processed
1,034,027
171,392
147,716
Part B: 2 Members — Customer Claims Satisfied, Litigation Matters Pending
503
58
30
Sub-Total
1,034,530
171,450
147,746
Part C: 320 Members — Proceedings Completed
Total
2,176,414
3,210,944
447,156
618,606
625,256
773,002
Appendix 3 notes:
(a) Based upon information available at year-end and subject to adjustments until the case is closed.
(b) IPA requires notice to be mailed to each person who appears to have been a customer of the debtor with an open account within the past twelve months. In order to
S
be sure that all potential claimants have been advised of the liquidation proceeding, trustees commonly mail notice and claim forms to all persons listed on the debtor’s
records, even if it appears that their accounts have been closed. As a result, many more claim forms are mailed than are received. Responses Received usually exceeds
Customers Receiving Distributions because responses are commonly received from customers whose accounts were previously delivered to another broker or to the
customer.
Responses are also received from persons who make no claim against the estate, or whose accounts net to a deficit, or who file late, incorrect, or invalid claims.
The number of Customers Receiving Distributions can exceed Responses Received when the trustee transfers accounts in bulk to other brokers before claims are filed.
(c) Includes assets marshalled by Trustee after filing date and does not include payments to general creditors.
(d) Revised from previous reports to reflect subsequent recoveries, disbursements and adjustments.
38 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
. December 31, 2014
Distribution of Assets
Held by Debtor(c)
Total
For Accounts
of Customers
SIPC Advances
Administration
Expenses
$ 118,853,014,895 $ 117,308,387,507 $ 1,544,627,388
424,017
404,369
19,648
Total
Advanced
Administration
Expenses
Contractual
Commitments
Securities
$ 1,829,477,269
$ 1,117,502,065
$ 709,357,437
569,766
63,690
381,458
Cash
$
2,617,767
124,618
118,853,438,912
117,308,791,876
1,544,647,036
1,830,047,035
1,117,565,755
709,738,895
2,742,385
15,965,955,473
15,641,462,722
324,492,751
513,286,998
197,790,355
$134,819,394,385
$132,950,254,598
$1,869,139,787 $2,343,334,033 $1,315,356,110
1,388,427
$1,388,427
182,996,536
131,111,680
$892,735,431 $133,854,065
2014 ANNUAL REPORT 39
. . . SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
805 FIFTEENTH STREET, N.W., SUITE 800 • WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-2215
(202) 371-8300 FAX (202) 371-6728
WWW.SIPC.ORG
. .