n a rare but not impossible situation, the broker you trusted with your trades could go belly-up. Typically, brokers provide protection for this type of situation. Securities Investor Protection Corporation or SIPC ensures that customers are not out of luck if a brokerage goes bust and assets are owed to customers. The broker will notify investors so they can either sell their shares or wait until they’re liquidated. This is a much better outcome than the traditional stock market, where investors own equity in a company—if the company goes bust, the investor can lose the value of their entire investment.