The financial market is a complex place characterized by multiple kinds of operations, legal procedures, and transactions of various nature. In order to comprehend the ins and outs of the financial market, one needs to devote time and study the trends closely. Therefore, those who trade in stock exchanges, foreign exchange markets, or any other market need a support system in the form of an institution or an individual – to help them with getting the processes done in time in the most optimal way possible.
That is where the inception of brokers takes place. People who invest in the securities market need services such as account management, consultation, and documentation, etc, and brokers are there to help.
Who Are Brokers
A broker may be an individual or an organization that performs as an intermediary to facilitate the transactions and communication between a securities exchange and an investor. Brokers are legally authorized to provide brokering services. As members of the exchange, the brokers interact with the stock exchange on the behalf of individual traders and investors who need the services of the stock exchange. It is so due to the fact that security exchanges only interact with registered members. A broker charges for his products and services in various ways such as direct fees, commissions, or through direct payments from the exchange itself.
What Are The Services Provided By The Brokers
A broker provides a variety of services to clients. Some of the common brokering services include:
Market Research & Investment Opportunities
Investors always have an appetite for details in regards to the latest market opportunities. A broker conducts research on behalf of the clients and provides them with viable investment opportunities.
Execute Orders
The most common responsibility of a broker is to execute orders for the client. A client may give instructions incorporating bits of advice from the broker as to where to invest, how much, and for how long. The broker immediately acts on the instructions and gets the orders executed.
Other Financial Services & Products
The brokers may also cross-sell complementary products related to services already being offered to you. Cross-selling is mostly a part of the marketing effort of the broker. For example, for an investor who is investing in the securities market, the broker may offer to provide tax preparation services.
Rules & Regulations For Brokers
Each country has its own regulatory body to regulate and support the functionality of brokers in order to safeguard the investors’ interests and avoid any form of exploitation. All the brokers need to register with the governing body before they can start their services. By law, they are required to follow the rules laid down by the governing body to continue their functions. Each broker is held to a certain standard of conduct – below which they cannot perform. Through research, we found this information that Forex brokers are regulated to perform transparently with their clients. For example, a broker needs to know the customers through what is referred to as “know your customer,” or KYC before getting involved in any kind of business. For every investment or product advice, there must be reasonable grounds to support the recommendation.
Based on the nature of brokering and related-area, there are several kinds of brokers. Some of the common ones include:
- Discount brokers: A discount broker is a kind of a stockbroker who carries out several types of trades for a client. They charge a reduced commission per trade for the brokering services they offer.
- Full-Service Broker: A full-service broker is a full-fledged broker who offers many important services to the client from market research, investment strategies to even retirement planning. Such brokers charge a higher commission or fee.
- Real Estate Broker: Any licensed real estate professional who acts as an intermediary between the seller and buyer of the property is the real estate broker. They carry out the process from the start to the end and typically charge a commission for their services.
- Direct-Access Broker: A direct-access broker operates online on a platform with a monthly fee. Due to limited area of operations, direct-access brokers charge low overhead and commissions.
Finding the most relevant broker for yourself is not a very challenging task if you know your requirements well. For investors looking for services in Forex, they can find a Forex broker, for insurance needs, an insurance broker is a good-to-go option, and likewise further. Brokers construct a bridge between you and your investment destination. You have the options to study, buy, store, transfer, sell, and many more based on your own needs – and your broker is there with you for all that you may need.
