OK, did a bit more digging. Turns out E*Trade stock positions are covered by SIPC, which is good news. Breathing a bit easier. Here's some information for others:
http://www.sipc.org/how/covers.cfm (lots more good info elsewhere on their site too)
In the grand scheme of things however, I'd rather avoid some long, protracted debate with a third party over getting my holdings "covered" in the event of a collapse. Sounds like a long, time-consuming and possibly expensive process. Yes, it's a measure of protection but given a choice, I'd rather things didn't go there. So I'm pulling out now.
The ones that complained about the "run on banks" in 1929 are the ones that got there only after the banks ran out of money. The ones that got there ahead of the crowd did okay, generally speaking. I'd rather be in that group. Even if E*Trade remains solvent and gets through this okay, I'd rather go elsewhere for a while until this blows over and whatever is going to happen, happens. This is perhaps (probably) an overreaction on my part, but when it comes to protecting the few assets I have in this world, I don't care if it is. If I'm being paranoid, so be it. It keeps me alive.
Anyone who has been on here for a while knows how bearish I am on real estate right now and the underlying foolishness surrounding it that has transpired over the last few years. Any empire built on the real estate bubble (even only partially) is like a high-rise built on sand. Very dangerous. The "subprime" stuff is very, very toxic and E*Trade certainly won't be its first, or only victim. Everyone who ate of that poison apple is going to at least get sick, and some are going to die from it. I'd just rather not have my assets anywhere near one of the ones that does.
I will talk with OptionsXPress today, which a couple of other guys I know use (they talked me into opening up an account with them last week, so this works to my advantage). They seem like a very good outfit and I've liked what I've seen so far in my limited dealings with them. If anyone's interested (or in a similar situation) here's some information they sent to me as a new account-holder:
Might be worth checking out for anyone else in a similar situation. Looks like they're more than willing to allow people to transfer investment positions to them and will even pay the fees so you can. Opportunistic. I like it.
