Financial professionals who are interested in pursuing stock broker jobs have several options to consider. Primarily, stock brokers are the liaison between investors and major exchanges where trades are executed. Full-service brokers not only facilitate trades on behalf of investors, including retail and institutional investors, they also provide investment advice on opportunities for fees. Discount brokers are more focused on the service of facilitating the orders as placed by large and small investors without providing additional advice. Stock broker jobs can be obtained at discount brokerage houses as well as financial institutions, such as investment banks, with brokerage divisions and the type of employer influencing the stock broker jobs that are available.
The key differences between a discount broker and full-service broker include the level of support that is provided to clients and fees that are generated by brokerage firms. Full-service brokers are stock broker jobs that can often be found at large financial institutions where revenues are generated from brokerage and other business lines. These professionals have a hands-on approach with clients in terms of providing advice that will help investors reach desired financial goals based on investment decisions. Additionally, full-service brokers perform buy-and-sell orders on behalf of clients. Brokerage fees are often based on volume, and full-service brokers might earn commissions that are worth a percentage of each trade.
Discount stock broker jobs can be found at many of the online brokerage firms. These brokerage professionals typically do not offer as many services in comparison with full-service brokers, but discount brokers can often perform trades for clients at a lower cost. Even with much of all investment activity being done online, some discount brokers still meet with clients in physical locations or provide customer service over the telephone. It is likely that compensation for discount brokers will be provided as a salary and might not be commission-based, as is common for full-service brokerage professionals.
In regions where more than one language is commonly spoken, bilingual stock broker jobs can be obtained. These professionals might be assigned to a local branch that is heavily populated with residents of a culture that is different from the majority in a country. The language requirements for a bilingual broker are likely to be very specific, depending on the region. For instance, a broker might have a command of the native language of a region as well as a common second language in that region, and he or she might focus on servicing clients who use those languages.