Article 8. Securities entitlements, intermediaries, and provable ownership.
Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code governs the indirect holding system — how securities held through an intermediary are owned, transferred, and protected. It is the legal foundation for how modern custody actually works.
The indirect holding system
Most securities today are not held directly — they are held through intermediaries, and Article 8 defines the relationships.
Entitlement holder
The investor who holds a securities entitlement against an intermediary, rather than holding the security directly.
Securities intermediary
The party that maintains the securities account and owes the entitlement to the holder.
Securities entitlement
The package of rights the holder has against the intermediary with respect to the position held in the account.
Why it matters for custody
Article 8 determines what an investor actually owns and how that ownership survives transfers and intermediaries.
Provable ownership
Ownership is expressed as an entitlement against a specific intermediary — a claim that must be recorded and evidenced.
Transfers that hold up
Transfers of assets move entitlements between intermediaries; the record must preserve the chain, not just the balance.
Evidence by design
Custody, entitlement, and governing documents are kept together so ownership can be demonstrated when it is questioned.
A8 Core™ models entitlements, intermediaries, and custody on the position, and B5 Secure™ enforces access to each record. See how this connects on the ownership & custody page.
See Article 8 in the account model.
Explore how entitlements, intermediaries, and custody are modeled on one operating system.