William S. Jasien

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation either acts as trustee or works with an independent court-appointed trustee in a missing asset case to recover funds. The statute that created SIPC provides that customers of a failed brokerage firm receive all non-negotiable securities that are already registered in their names or in the process of being registered. Recovered funds are used to replenish SIPC's reserve in the event that the reserve is tapped in the early stages of a liquidation proceeding.