# Broker checklist

Go through this before opening an account. Stop if any Section 1 item is a no.

## 1. Authorization and legal status

- [ ] Provider found in a European regulator's public register
- [ ] Name of the contracting entity noted from the contract documents:
      ____________________________________________
- [ ] That entity's registered address: ____________________
- [ ] Not on a regulator's warning list
- [ ] I wasn't contacted, I went looking myself

## 2. Safety of holdings

- [ ] Securities are held as segregated assets
- [ ] Settlement account held at: ____________________
- [ ] Deposit insurance applies, amount: ____________________
- [ ] Withdrawals only to a reference account in my own name

## 3. Costs

- [ ] Account fee: ____________________
- [ ] Order fee: ____________________
- [ ] Venue fee: ____________________
- [ ] Savings plan free: yes / no, otherwise ____________________
- [ ] Foreign-currency markup: ____________________
- [ ] Cost of an account transfer to another provider: ______________

## 4. Trading

- [ ] Available venues: ____________________
- [ ] Order types available: market, limit, stop
- [ ] Savings plan possible on the ETFs I want
- [ ] Execution policy is findable and readable

## 5. Taxes

- [ ] Automatic tax withholding: yes / no
- [ ] Exemption order possible: yes / no
- [ ] If no: I know I have to report everything myself

## 6. After opening

- [ ] First small order placed and confirmation checked
- [ ] Execution price compared against a reference price at the same time
- [ ] Test withdrawal of a small amount completed