There is all sorts of
red tape before the SEC will let you do business:
A broker-dealer may not begin business until:
it has properly filed Form BD, and the SEC has granted its registration;
it has become a member of an SRO;
it has become a member of SIPC, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation;
it complies with all applicable state requirements; and
its "associated persons" have satisfied applicable qualification requirements.
Then there's all the
record keeping and periodic disclosure requirements. There are also
fees to consider too. Then you need to pay lawyers who can see that everything gets done properly.
I can see why brokers -- especially small ones -- would want to avoid this entirely.
Shit, that's sure hella lot of red tape.
And not just small timers; even renowned players like eToro just recently opened their doors to the US market.