"Who Really Owns the Securities?

1. DTC (via Cede & Co.) – Legally owns nearly all securities.

2. Broker-Dealers & Banks – Hold securities on behalf of investors.

3. Individual Investors – Have a beneficial interest but not direct ownership.

What This Means for You

If you own stocks through a brokerage account, you don’t have your name directly on the company's shareholder register.

Instead, you have a claim on the securities held by your broker, which in turn has a claim on the securities held by DTC."

Directly from an LLM chat.

That trifold indirection is something else.

People should let that sink in. Among others, ETFs are going to be rugged, it's just a matter of when.