What is a securities Power of Attorney ?

Power of Attorney is the legal right assigned by a person or institution upon another person to act and represent the original person. In the securities industry, a Limited Power of Attorney is given by a customer to a representative of a broker or dealer who would normally give a registered representative trading discretion over the customer's account. The power is limited in that neither securities nor funds may be withdrawn from the account. In the securities industry, an Unlimited Power of Attorney given by a customer to a representative of a broker or dealer would normally give a registered representative full discretion over all transactions in the customer's account.