As of July 22, 2005, any brokerage firm that offers fee based accounts must prominently disclose the following:

• “Your account is a brokerage account and not an advisory account.
  Our interests may not always be the same as yours. Please ask us
  questions to make sure you understand your rights and our obligations
  to you, including the extent of our obligations to disclose conflicts of
  interest and to act in your best interest. We are paid both by you and,
  sometimes, by people who compensate us based on what you buy.
  Therefore, our profits and our salespersons' compensation may vary
  by product and over time.”

  
  
• Brokerage firms must include this disclosure in their brokerage account applications, and in advertisements and sales materials for fee-based accounts.



• Brokerage firms must make available someone who can explain to potential customers the differences between brokerage accounts and investment advisory accounts.