I: Overview of the Industry Flashcards
Members of a clearing corporation that compares and settles its clients’ trades against those of opposing broker/dealers.
Clearing broker/dealer
Do not deal in securities and do not have to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. They are regulated by a different federal agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Commodity houses
These firms transact business in such products as agricultural produce and lumber. They buy and sell futures on the products as well as deal in the physical products themselves.
Commodity houses
Participate in the secondary trading of corporate debt by “making markets” in specific issues. The dealers buy and sell these instruments against their own client and other broker/dealers.
Corporate bond dealers
Use the services of another firm to clear and settle trades that they have entered into on behalf of their clients or themselves.
Correspondent firms
Clearing firm carries and is responsible for the clients’ accounts of the correspondent firm.
Operating on a fully disclosed basis.
A correspondent firm that maintains the identity of its clients and is responsible for the account.
Operating on a nondisclosed basis.
Correspondent firm operating on a nondisclosed basis.
Introducing firm or nonclearing firm.
Specialize in servicing nonclearing broker/dealers by comparing and settling the correspondent’s contra broker (opposing broker) trades.
Correspondent clearing firms
Operate in certain markets where a central place for trading does not exist. These firms act as conduits between broker/dealers, assisting them in locating or selling particular types of securities.
Dealer’s brokers
Do not offer all the services and amenities that a full-service firm offers. Therefore, they can offer a lower commission charge than a full-service firm.
Discount brokers
Broker/dealers who take positions (make markets) in shares of corporate stock and trade against their own clients and other broker/dealers. They are found primarily in the over-the-counter market.
Equity dealers
Offer clients many different products, such as common and preferred stocks; corporate, municipal, and U.S. Treasury debt instruments; derivatives (that is, options, futures and swaps); and different types of account custodial services.
Full-service broker/dealers
Trade on the floor of a futures exchange. There they trade contracts for a delivery sometime in the future in such products as grains, metals, currencies, indexes, bonds, and, recently, common stocks.
Futures trading firms
Must be approved by the Federal Reserve Board (the Fed). Once approved, they buy U.S. Treasury instruments directly from the Fed and sell them to the public. In addition, they maintain positions in government securities, which they buy and sell in trading against the public.
Government dealers
Specialize in offering financial services to institutions, such as corporations, mutual funds, and trust companies.
Institutional broker/dealers
Have a main office in one country but maintain other offices, both in the home country and in other countries.
International broker/dealers
Assist corporations, municipalities, and certain other entities in their efforts to raise and manage capital. This includes but is not limited to bringing an entity’s securities to the public markets.
Investment banking firms
Risk their capital in trading chosen securities against their own clients and other broker/dealers.
Market-making firms. These firms are also known as dealers or trading firms.
Invest, either alone or with a group, in corporations or other perceived opportunities. They become part of the ownership of the entity they are investing in. It is usually not their intention to take control and manage the company. They are primarily interested in the investment aspects of the company.
Merchant banking firms
Work with their corporate clients in recommending, structuring, and acting as an intermediary in mergers and acquisitions. They are also involved in one or the other side of a hostile takeover bid.
Merger and acquisition specialists
Act as a conduit for issuers that pool loans and issue securities against the pool. The buyers of these issues receive interest and principal payments periodically.
Mortgage-backed dealers
Have several “headquarters” globally; they conduct business in various countries as if they were domiciled there.
Multinational broker/dealers
Specialize in making markets in the secondary trading of municipal debt instruments. Their focus is on distribution of state and local government debt products.
Municipal bond dealers
Do not belong to a clearing corporation and therefore use the services of a clearing firm to settle their trades with opposing broker/dealers.
Nonclearing broker/dealers
Their clients enter orders via the Web through the firm’s computer system straight to the marketplace where the particular issue is traded. Once the transaction is executed, a report is sent to the client electronically.
Online broker/dealers
Usually trade on the options exchanges, such as American Stock Exchange (AMEX), Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE), and International Securities Exchange (ISE). The market makers trade for their own accounts against other traders and the public. These firms usually do not conduct business directly with public clients.
Option market-making firms
Write or purchase customized options on a one-to-one basis against their own clients for other broker/dealers’ clients. These customized options are basically illiquid and do not use the facility of a clearing corporation to settle their trades.
Option market-making firms
Act as a central custodial facility for institutions that utilize the services of many broker/dealers.
Prime brokers
Have their headquarters outside of New York and its vicinity. Such a firm probably has sales branch offices near its headquarters office.
Regional broker/dealers
Provide financial services to the public at large. They may have one or several branch offices where sales are conducted.
Retail firms
Members of an equity exchange that is charged with making a fair and orderly market in the securities assigned to them and with executing public orders entrusted to them by other broker/dealers.
Specialist firms
Dealers that take positions and trade New York Stock Exchange-listed securities that qualify for “off-board” trading.
Third-market broker/dealers
General term used to describe a retail firm that has many sales branches that communicate with the main office through telephone wires.
Wire house
Must hold a license with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Broker/Dealers
Firm that purchases and sells securities for its clients in the marketplace, but never trades against the client’s order.
Broker
Firm that positions a security and trades against the public.
Dealer
Three primary components of a typical broker/dealer
Front Office, Middle Office, and Back Office
Comprised primarily of revenue-producing areas. Here are the retail and institutional sales forces.
Front Office