11 - What is a broker?

[Woman 1] No! Can you see him? It's Julian!
[Woman 2] You're right!
[Woman 1] Those bankers, they're so full of themselves. 
[Woman 2] What do you mean? Julian is a nice guy!
[Woman 1] He was a nice guy until I asked him for some device on my share portfolio. “Sorry, Carrie”, he said. “I do something else now, I can't help you anymore”.
[Woman 2] What do you expect? He's a broker. It's bank jargon.
[Woman 1] After everything we've been through, I thought we had a special relationship.
[Woman 2] Well, now that he's a broker, he can't help you like he used to.
[Woman 1] But why? And what is a broker anyway? Some kind of VIP?
[Woman 2] Brokers act as intermediaries between investors wanting to buy or sell securities, like shares. They manage their clients’ orders and execute them as best they can on the market.
[Woman 1] But why can't investors just trade directly among themselves?
[Woman 2] Because they need to go through brokers to access the market. So, brokers receive orders and execute them, making all transactions traceable. It's highly regulated. You can't just do what you want.
[Woman 1] That doesn't sound so complicated.
[Woman 2] It's not that straightforward. An equity broker works with a team of research analysts who constantly analyze the financial health of listed companies. Clients can base their orders on their financial analysis as sent by their broker. Their broker can also help them with their orders and the terms of execution.
[Woman 1] But I'm also an investor! Can't Julian place orders for me?
[Woman 2] Carrie, how much do you have to invest?
[Woman 1] Well…
[Woman 2] You see, as an individual customer, you have to go through a bank or an online broker. Corporate brokers only trade on behalf of corporate clients. And you? Are you a corporate client?
[Woman 1] No.
[Woman 2] Well, there you go! Forget about it!
[Woman 1] As I was saying, he's full of himself.
[Woman 2] If you say so.
[Woman 1] Yes, I say so.
[Woman 2] What's that? 
[Woman 1] That's that.