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Contingent Liabilities	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Notes to Financial Statements
Contingent Liabilities	Retail customer transactions are cleared through clearing brokers on a fully disclosed basis. If customers do not fulfill their contractual obligations, the clearing broker may charge Siebert for any loss incurred in connection with the purchase or sale of securities at prevailing market prices to satisfy the customer obligations. Siebert regularly monitors the activity in its customer accounts for compliance with its margin requirements. Siebert is exposed to the risk of loss on unsettled customer transactions if customers are unable to fulfill their contractual obligations. There were no material losses for unsettled customer transactions for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010. In a prior year, Siebert had been named as one of the defendants in a class action pending in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Among other claims, the third amended complaint in the action asserted on behalf of a class of purchasers in a public offering of $1,500,000,000, 6.75% Subordinated Notes due 2017 (the “Notes”), issued by Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., and certain smaller issuances of other securities that Siebert and other underwriters of the Notes violated Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, and other applicable law in that relevant offering materials were false and misleading. Siebert had purchased $15 million of the Notes and $462,953 of other securities as an underwriter in the offerings. Siebert and the other underwriters moved to dismiss the third amended complaint on various grounds. The Court granted in part and denied in part the motion by an order dated July 27, 2011. On November 3, 2011, Siebert and the plaintiffs class agreed to resolve all claims against Siebert in consideration of a $1 million payment by Siebert. The settlement is subject to court approval. As of September 30, 2011, the Company had accrued a $1 million provision for loss to reflect the settlement. Siebert is party to certain other claims, suits and complaints arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management all such claims, suits and complaints are without merit, or involved amounts which would not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Company.

Contingent Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Retail customer transactions are cleared through clearing brokers on a fully disclosed basis. If customers do not fulfill their contractual obligations, the clearing broker may charge Siebert for any loss incurred in connection with the purchase or sale of securities at prevailing market prices to satisfy the customer obligations. Siebert regularly monitors the activity in its customer accounts for compliance with its margin requirements. Siebert is exposed to the risk of loss on unsettled customer transactions if customers are unable to fulfill their contractual obligations. There were no material losses for unsettled customer transactions for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010.

In a prior year, Siebert had been named as one of the defendants in a class action pending in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Among other claims, the third amended complaint in the action asserted on behalf of a class of purchasers in a public offering of $1,500,000,000, 6.75% Subordinated Notes due 2017 (the “Notes”), issued by Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., and certain smaller issuances of other securities that Siebert and other underwriters of the Notes violated Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, and other applicable law in that relevant offering materials were false and misleading. Siebert had purchased $15 million of the Notes and $462,953 of other securities as an underwriter in the offerings. Siebert and the other underwriters moved to dismiss the third amended complaint on various grounds. The Court granted in part and denied in part the motion by an order dated July 27, 2011. On November 3, 2011, Siebert and the plaintiffs class agreed to resolve all claims against Siebert in consideration of a $1 million payment by Siebert. The settlement is subject to court approval. As of September 30, 2011, the Company had accrued a $1 million provision for loss to reflect the settlement.

Siebert is party to certain other claims, suits and complaints arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management all such claims, suits and complaints are without merit, or involved amounts which would not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Company.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for the claims loss reserve for insurance contracts with a life contingency (permanent life, some term life, accident and health, some annuities), describing the loss exposures and bases and methodologies for making the relevant accounting estimates.

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