What is a Broker Dealer?

A person or firm in the business of buying and selling securities, operating as both a broker and a dealer, depending on the transaction. The term broker-dealer is used in U.S. securities regulation parlance to describe stock brokerages, because most of them act as both agents and principals. A brokerage acts as a broker (or agent) when it executes orders on behalf of clients, whereas it acts as a dealer (or principal) when it trades for its own account.

Broker-dealers fulfill several important functions in the financial industry; these include providing investment advice to customers, supplying liquidity through market-making activities, facilitating trading activities, publishing investment research and raising capital for companies. Broker-dealers may range in size from small independent boutiques to large subsidiaries of giant commercial and investment banks.

Since 2000, LEXCO has chosen to affiliate with one of the nation’s largest independent Broker-dealers, LPL Financial.

Who is LPL Financial ? click here for more info: www.lplfinancial.lpl.com