The protection of customer assets is our highest priority.
US Futures Commissions Merchants are required to hold customer funds for trading on US futures markets in a customer-segregated account. The funds held in a customer-segregated account may not be used to meet the obligations of the FCM or any other person, including a customer.
When FCMs deposit a portion of their funds in the customer-segregated account as a buffer to ensure the liquidity of the segregated account, it is called residual interest.
Unlike equity markets, futures customers do not receive the benefit of SIPC protection of their assets. However, the distributed nature of the futures business - with a separate FCM, exchange, and clearing house, with each having its own risk management and collateral policies and procedures - helps protect the assets of all customers.
CFTC Commodity Exchange Act Chapter 1, Part 1 - Customers' Money, Securities, & Property.