The money and investments in your trading account are protected by a group called the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). If something goes wrong with the company that holds your account, like if it runs out of money, SIPC helps protect you. They can cover up to $500,000 of your account, including up to $100,000 in cash that’s waiting to be used for investing.

However, SIPC does not protect you if your investments lose value because of changes in the market. It only helps if the company itself fails and can’t give you back your money or investments.

To learn more, you can visit sipc.org.