How Safe Is Your Brokerage Account?  These are the protections
in place if your firm fails.   When a brokerage firm fails,
customer assets are usually still safe—up to a point. All
brokerage firms that do business with the public are required to
be members of the Securities Investor Protection Corp., a
nonprofit organization that provides some insurance to investors
if the firm becomes insolvent.  SIPC covers the replacement of
missing stocks and other securities up to $500,000, including
$100,000 in cash claims. Investors typically receive their
assets in one to three months once liquidation is initiated. The
cash comes from a reserve fund authorized by Congress
specifically for investors at failed brokerage firms.  But
customers get these payouts only as a result of the firm's
failure or special financial circumstances in which customer
assets are missing, like theft, conversion, or unauthorized
trading. SIPC does not reimburse ordinary market loss or
investments not registered with the Securities and Excha