In commerce, a broker is a party that mediates between a buyer and a seller. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Distinguish agent: one who acts on behalf of a principal. Commerce is the trading of something of value between two entities. ... A buyer, sometimes called a merchandiser, is a person who purchases finished goods, typically for resale, for a firm, government, or organization. ... Sales, or the activity of selling, forms an integral part of commercial activity. ... A principal is: The head of an educational institution. ... An agent is an autonomous entity with an ontological commitment and agenda of its own. ...
A brokerage is a firm that acts as a broker. Firm can have several meanings: Firm - a loose legal term for a company. ...
In computing, a broker consists of software which mediates between two objects: typically between a client and a server or between a repository and a requestor or caller. See for example: An Insurance Broker sources (brokes) contracts of insurance on behalf of their customers. ... This article might not be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... A real estate broker is in the business of brokering real estate transactions; that is, finding sellers for those who want to buy real estate and finding buyers for those trying to sell real estate. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A power broker is a person who can influence people to vote towards a particular client (i. ... The Power Broker is a 1973 biography of Robert Moses, New York Citys Master Builder, by Robert Caro. ... Grishams 2005 Novel The Broker The Broker, a book by John Grisham published in the USA on January 11, 2005, follows the story of Joel Backman, a newly pardoned man who tried to broker a deal to give the worlds most powerful surveillance system to the highest bidder. ... Originally, the word computing was synonymous with counting and calculating, and a science that deals with the original sense of computing mathematical calculations. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... WordNet gives four main senses for the English noun object: a physical entity; something that is within the grasp of the senses; an aim, target or objective â see Object (task); a grammatical Object â either a direct object or an indirect object the focus of cognitions or feelings. ... In computing, a client is a system that accesses a (remote) service on another computer by some kind of network. ... In computing, a server is a software application that carries out some task (i. ... A repository is a central place where data is stored and maintained. ...
Discount brokers (such as E-Trade, Scottrade, and Ameritrade) have taken a large share of the business by offering highly discounted commissions, but the companies do not offer investment advice in return--all they do is execute orders.
Using a stock broker for active management of a Stock/Mutual Fund Portfolio may be unnecessary when a passive management alternative is available for long term investing within the confines of a Tax-Sheltered Retirement Accounts.
Thus a conflict of interest arises concerning a stock broker who offers his/her service as a financial planner, because their revenue is generated as a direct result of your investment in the stock/mutual fund that they broker to you.