Free Republic

You would think that the roles and responsibilities would be clear and there would be a strong line between individuals who call themselves financial advisers and those who call themselves stock brokers. The obvious answer is that advisers give impartial advice based on the best interest of the client and brokers sell products as a third party. Advisers are sworn to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own, thanks to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In that case, what is a broker? The act also provides this definition. A broker is, “Any person engaged in the business of...

Pool Of Independent Brokers Grows As Wall Street's Falls By Lynn Cowan and Cheryl Winokur Munk of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON--(Dow Jones)--They're not affiliated with well-known names such as Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) or Citigroup Inc.'s (C) Smith Barney, but the ranks of independent stockbrokers have continued to grow in the past three years even as major Wall Street firms have consistently been cutting their sales forces. The number of independent brokers - who shoulder all the costs of doing business but get to keep a greater portion of their output - increased 37% from 1999 to an estimated...