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Closing & re-opening your account

What should I do before closing my Frec account?

Before you close your Frec account, you will need to pay off any outstanding margin loan balance and bring your account balance to $0.00. Here is how to navigate each area:

Clear your margin loan balance

You can pay off your margin loan using one of two options:

  1. Option A — Deposit cash into your Frec account to cover the balance.
  2. Option B — Sell securities in your Frec account to pay off the loan amount.

You can learn more about paying off your loan in this help center article.

Transfer your assets out via ACATS

To move your assets to another brokerage, you will need to initiate an Automated Customer Account Transfer System (ACATS) request through your new external brokerage firm. You can do this by:

  • Transfer everything at once: Request a full transfer of all assets, including any existing margin loan balance.
  • Pay first, then transfer: Pay off your margin loan upfront, then submit a full transfer request for your remaining holdings.

Important ACATS details

Whole shares transferred via ACATS keep their original cost basis and do not trigger a capital gains tax event. Fractional shares cannot be transferred between brokerage firms with ACATS and will be sold.

Frec’s clearing firm, Apex, charges a $75 outgoing ACATS fee. You can learn more about ACATS in this help center article.

Handle pending dividends

If you own dividend-paying securities, pending payouts can extend the final account closure process up to 30 days. How they are handled depends on your transfer method:

  • If you completed a full ACAT transfer, pending dividends will automatically sweep into your new external brokerage account once paid.
  • If you liquidated your holdings, dividends will be deposited into your Frec Cash balance. You will need to initiate a manual ACH transfer to move those funds to your bank.

Closing your account

You can initiate the closing of your account by following these steps:

  1. Click your name or Account > Account settings > Accounts tab
  2. Click Close your account in red below the account you want to close.

Once you initiate this process, you will no longer be able to place buy trades in your account.

How do I re-open my Frec account?

You can request to reopen your account within 30 days of initiating account closure by contacting help@frec.com. Reopening requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and cannot be guaranteed. If your account has already been fully closed, you may need to submit a new application to open a new account.