Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,899,582,898 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

Broker-Dealer

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
Broker-dealer
Any person, other than a bank, engaged in the business of buying or selling securities on its own behalf or for others. See: Dealer.

Broker-Dealer
A person or, more often, a firm that acts as a broker for some transactions and a dealer for others. That is, as a broker, he/she conducts transactions on behalf of clients, and, as a dealer, he/she trades on his/her own account. In practice, most brokerages are in fact broker-dealer firms. Most broker-dealers must register with the SEC.

broker-dealer
A firm that functions both as a broker by bringing buyers and sellers together and as a dealer by taking positions of its own in selected securities. Many firms that are commonly called brokers or brokerage firms are actually broker-dealers.

Broker-dealer. A broker-dealer (B/D) is a license granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that entitles the licensee to buy and sell securities for its clients' accounts. The firm may also act as principal, or dealer, trading securities for its own inventory.

Some broker-dealers act in both capacities, depending on the circumstances of the trade or the type of security being traded. For example, your order to purchase a particular security might be filled from the firm's inventory.

That's perfectly legal, though you must be notified that it has occurred. B/Ds range in size from independent one-person offices to large brokerage firms.


Broker-Dealer

What Does Broker-Dealer Mean?

A person or firm that is in the business of buying and selling securities and operating as both a broker and a dealer, depending on the transaction.

Investopedia explains Broker-Dealer

Technically, a broker is only an agent to a transaction who executes orders on behalf of clients, whereas a dealer acts as a principal and trades (buys and sells) for his or her own account. Because most brokerages act as both brokers and principals, the term broker-dealer is used commonly to describe them.

Related Terms:
FINRA
Market Maker
Nasdaq
New York Stock Exchange
Stock Market



Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Financial browser?   Full browser?
 
The MetLife Broker-Dealer Group has launched a new electronic business processing system for its broker-dealer operations.
In the fallout of the financial crisis, the due diligence process used by at least one independent broker-dealer to evaluate which life insurance products gain access to its distribution has gotten a lot more rigorous.
I'm excited to be involved in building this new business," commented MacDonnell, who is registered with the broker-dealer as a General Securities Principal.
 
 
 
Financial Dictionary
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.