Brokers,
Traders...

Though we typically use the term broker to describe the professionals who buy
and sell stocks, other, less widely recognized titles are actually describing
the ways securities change hands and the people who get the job done.

Brokers
Handle buy and sell orders placed by individual and
institutional clients in return for a commission.

Dealers
Buy and sell securities for their own or their
firm's account rather than for a client.

Investment Bankers, or Underwriters
Buy new issues of stock directly from corporations
and sell them to individual and institutional investors.

Traders
Buy and sell securities for their own portfolios.
In this sense, the term is interchangeable with dealer.
However, the term traders is also used to describe employees of broker-dealers
who handle securities transactions for the company and its clients.

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