The Customer Account Transfer (CAT) Section is an organization whose goal is to provide clients with efficient and timely account transfers within the financial community.
The CAT Section encourages open lines of communication between member firms in a professional team environment in order to provide optimal service in regards to the transfer requests of our clients. In addition, the Section encourages Uniformity of Practices and has provided Educational Seminars to share ideas and to educate the Financial Community, while providing leadership and vision in our industry.
The Section had its beginnings in 1981. Originally 11 people involved in account transfers decided to meet monthly to discuss their common problems. This was before the ACATS system and paperwork was exchanged between firms at lunch meetings. The Section incorporated in 1982 as the 412 committee. The first mission was to establish a telephone contact list.
The SEC was beginning to field many thousands of customer complaints. The SEC exerted great pressure on the NYSE, AMEX and the NASD to address these complaints. In 1984, the 412 committee began to work closely with NSCC to develop a system to accommodate account transfers. In 1985, these regulatory agencies commissioned the NSCC to develop a system to expedite account transfers between brokerage firms. The Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) was born. The system was rolled out to six pilot firms in the spring of 1985. It has been extremely successful and has evolved into the system we all use today.
In late 1989, the 412 Committee applied for membership to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). The Committee was granted full membership status in 1992 and the name was changed to the Customer Account Transfer Section.
As members of the SIFMA, we attend monthly meetings with the other Sections and Societies of SIFMA. We openly discuss issues and concerns to improve and enhance the customer's perspective in the financial community. SIFMA Sections and Societies include the Corporate Actions, Credit & Margin, Legal & Compliance, and Securities Operations, to name a few.
Why should YOU be a member of the CAT Section?
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Contact List of all Section members, listing their names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Updated periodically.
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Subscription to "The Communicator", keeping you up to date with all industry changes relating to account transfers.
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Invitations to Educational Dinners, to keep you abreast of the industry's goings on.
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Participation in select Section subcommittees.
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Access to the "members-only" area of the CAT Section web site which also includes email notification of industry updates, Section alerts and upcoming events.
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The Section holds a close working relationship with the SIFMA, FINRA, NYSE and NSCC.
