QUESTION:
I am confused by broker’s role in modern society, mostly for the public market. Once a company is listed in the stock exchange, can’t end users directly buy and sell on the exchange? Why do we need brokers for this? Are brokers like wholesale people ? If brokers are not wholesalers, and can’t get a good price, then why do people use a broker to help them place an order on exchanges rather than open an account on the exchange directly and trade?
Brokers had a bigger role in the past, at least within the context of your question. Markets now are easily accessible to casual traders, and usually at reasonable transaction costs. So, if you know what you want to trade and are sophisticated enough to use standard technology, then you don’t need the middle man. However, there are speculators who either still like the personal interaction with a broker or aren’t comfortable enough navigating the user interfaces.
Many brokers are also in the investment advisory space. They work on commissions, their advice is transaction based, and their approach to investing is conventional, meaning they engage in stock picking and market timing. Clients who like the idea of “beating” the markets or think that you need to “beat” the markets in order to succeed would probably be more comfortable with a broker rather than with a fiduciary investment advisor. Unlike the conventional approach that tries to outguess the markets, fee-only fiduciary advisors wouldn’t normally speculate in the short-term. They are held to a higher legal standard than is a broker (“best interest for client” vs “suitability”). Hope that helps answer your question.