13 Feb Is SIPC insurance better than FDIC?

Q. Can you tell me what SIPC insurance is and whether it’s better than FDIC insurance?
— Investor

A. Ah, we think you may have gotten a little confused over a question we answered last week.

That one discussed how FDIC insurance works when there are multiple people listed on an account.

The primary difference between FDIC and SIPC is the accounts that are covered by each, said Claudia Mott, a certified financial planner with Epona Financial Solutions in Basking Ridge.

She said FDIC is for deposit accounts at insured banks, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposits and Certificates of Deposit, or CDs.

SIPC protects investors if a brokerage firm fails and includes taxable accounts as well as traditional and Roth IRAs, she said.

“It does not protect against market losses in the investments,” she said.

SIPC coverage includes investments in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and cash held in accounts, she said. It does not cover futures, commodities, fixed annuities, cryptocurrency or limited partnerships.

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This story was originally published in February 2026. 

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