Madoff Securities: Quality Executions and Service Through Innovative Technology
A Global Leader in Trading US Equities
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC is a leading international market maker. The firm has been providing quality executions for broker-dealers, banks, and financial institutions since its inception in 1960. During this time, Madoff has compiled an uninterrupted record of growth, which has enabled us to continually build our financial resources. With more than $700 million in firm capital, Madoff currently ranks among the top 1% of US Securities firms. Our sophisticated proprietary automation and unparalleled client service delivers an enhanced execution that is virtually unmatched in our industry.
The legitimate market-making arm of Madoff Securities was real, profitable, and operated on a separate floor of the Lipstick Building at 885 Third Avenue. The investment advisory business — where the fraud lived — held purported assets of roughly $65 billion in fabricated account statements by December 2008. None of that money was actually invested. A real, regulated business can serve as a credible facade for a parallel fraud.
Madoff Securities' clients include scores of leading securities firms, banks and financial institutions from across the United States and around the world. The firm is a leading market-maker in all of the S&P 500 stocks as well as over 350 NASDAQ issues. The firm is known for its fine pricing as well as its ability to execute most orders in seconds.
Madoff Securities' superior service is made possible by a sophisticated dealing staff backed by the securities industry's most advanced technology. It is underpinned by the personal commitment of founder Bernard L. Madoff and his brother Peter B. Madoff, who is the senior managing director. Their dedication to providing quality executions has enabled the firm to become a leader in the US "third market," which trades US listed equities away from the exchange floor. Madoff Securities is a registered US broker/dealer regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
An Intricate Interweaving of Advanced Technology and Sophisticated Traders
One of the critical ingredients in creating the added value which Madoff Securities offers its clients is the firm's intricate interweaving of advanced technology and experienced traders. The firm's position at the forefront of computerized trading is widely acknowledged in the US financial community.
Madoff Securities' leading edge information processing technology means clients can choose to communicate their buy and sell orders to the firm's trading room by electronically inputting them or by making a telephone call. In either case, once an order is received, Madoff's systems scan prevailing prices in all markets to establish an execution price. Because this process may take only seconds, clients can receive immediate confirmation of their transactions.
The investment advisory arm did not execute trades. Customer statements reported historical prices for transactions that were never placed. The "sophisticated automation" described here applied only to the legitimate market-making operation. The 17th floor of the Lipstick Building — where the advisory business was run — used a separate IBM AS/400 server dedicated to generating fabricated trade confirmations.
Sophisticated computers are integral to every aspect of the firm's activities, from executing trades to clearing and settling them, from monitoring prices to identifying trading opportunities around the world.
Madoff Securities also utilizes its computers to seek out opportunities for hedging its inventory of securities. The firm uses a variety of futures, options, and other instruments to hedge its positions and limit its risks. While these hedging strategies are an important tool in protecting the firm's financial position, ultimately, these highly prudent risk management policies protect the interests of clients as well.
At Madoff Securities, Clearing and Settlement are rooted in Advanced Technology
The combination of quality and value that is inherent in every Madoff Securities transaction continues beyond execution. At Madoff, the clearing and settlement process is also rooted in advanced technology, which minimizes errors and maximizes efficient processing and rapid communications.
Madoff Securities is a full clearing firm and a member of all US clearing corporations and depositories. The firm's highly automated clearing and settlement systems interface with the Depository Trust Company, the Options Clearing Corporation, and the National Securities Clearing Corporation, of which Bernard Madoff is a past chairman. The firm's systems also interface fully with the systems of all major global custodians and clearing & Settlement systems.
Madoff Securities' extensive network of relationships with other broker/dealers enables the firm to ensure timely delivery and settlement of all client transactions.
Moreover, Madoff Securities' computerized transaction processing means that the firm can customize client reports and deliver them electronically in whatever format best meets the needs of clients.
Important Information About Procedures for Opening a New Account
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.
What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver's license or other identifying documents.
Sophisticated Disaster Recovery Facilities, Reflects the Attention to Every Detail
Madoff Securities has one of the most sophisticated disaster recovery facilities found anywhere in the securities industry. In addition to its offices in Manhattan, Madoff Securities maintains a fully equipped and staffed facility located near LaGuardia Airport. This office duplicates all of the features of the primary Madoff Securities offices. Madoff Securities' disaster recovery facility is not just an alternative trading room, but rather a full-fledged office which is equipped to receive and transact orders and to handle the clearing and settlement process as well.
Under the supervision of a facilities manager, this unique on-line facility is tested continuously to ensure that it is prepared to take over the firm's operations if any kind of disaster were to affect the Manhattan office. Members of the firm's staff are rotated through the facility and regularly perform their work from it. Thus, there is always staff on hand in case disaster strikes at the firm's main office.
The disaster recovery facility is on a different electric power grid than the main office, and it is served by a different telephone central office. The facility also has its own electrical generator.
Since this facility was created in 1992, it has been used as an adjunct to Madoff Securities' main office, and it has not been confronted with a major emergency. But the existence of this facility testifies to the high priority the firm places on being available to meet the needs of its clients under all conditions.
The "attention to every detail" was real. Among other places, it was applied to the forgery of trade confirmations and account statements produced on the 17th floor of the Lipstick Building — physically separated from the legitimate market-making operation upstairs.
The Owner's Name is on the Door
In an era of faceless organizations owned by other equally faceless organizations, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC harks back to an earlier era in the financial world: The owner's name is on the door. Clients know that Bernard Madoff has a personal interest in maintaining the unblemished record of value, fair-dealing, and high ethical standards that has always been the firm's hallmark.
Bernard L. Madoff founded the investment firm that bears his name in 1960, soon after leaving law school. His brother, Peter B. Madoff, graduated from law school and joined the firm in 1970. While building the firm into a significant force in the securities industry, they have both been deeply involved in leading the dramatic transformation that has been underway in US securities trading.
Bernard L. Madoff has been a major figure in the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the major self-regulatory organization for US broker/dealer firms. The firm was one of the five broker/dealers most closely involved in developing the NASDAQ Stock Market. He has been chairman of the board of directors of the NASDAQ Stock Market as well as a member of the board of governors of the NASD and a member of numerous NASD committees.
One major US financial publication lauded Bernard Madoff for his role in "helping to make NASDAQ a faster, fairer, more efficient and more international system." He has also served as a member of the board of directors of the Securities Industry Association.
Reflecting the growing international involvement of the firm, when Madoff Securities opened a London office in 1983, it would become one of the first US members of the London Stock Exchange. Bernard Madoff was also a founding member of the board of directors of the International Securities Clearing Corporation in London.
Bernard L. Madoff pled guilty in March 2009 to eleven federal felonies including securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, money laundering, and perjury. He was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison and died in custody in April 2021. The "unblemished record" and decades of growth described above were substantially fabricated. The investment advisory arm of the firm had been operating as a Ponzi scheme since at least the early 1990s, and possibly as early as the 1970s.
Peter B. Madoff has also been deeply involved in the NASD and other financial services regulatory organizations. He has served as vice chairman of the NASD, a member of its board of governors, and chairman of its New York region. He also has been actively involved in the NASDAQ Stock Market as a member of its board of governors and its executive committee and as chairman of its trading committee. He also has been president of the Security Traders Association of New York. He is a member of the board of directors of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. He is a member of the board of the Securities Industry Association.
Bernard and Peter Madoff have both played instrumental roles in the development of the fully computerized National Stock Exchange. Peter Madoff has been a member of its board of governors and has served on its executive committee. They have helped make the National Exchange the fastest growing regional stock exchange in the United States.
These positions of leadership not only indicate the deep interest Madoff Securities has shown in its industry, they also reflect the respect the firm and its management have achieved in the financial community.
Peter B. Madoff pled guilty in June 2012 to conspiracy and falsifying records, admitting he failed in his duties as the firm's chief compliance officer. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and released in 2020.
Industry leadership positions are not a substitute for trustworthiness. Madoff's regulatory roles built the credibility that helped him evade scrutiny. Independent investigator Harry Markopolos submitted detailed mathematical warnings to the SEC beginning in 2000; they were repeatedly ignored, in part because of Madoff's stature within the industry.