A broker is an intermediary agent in the purchase and sale of goods. He is an agent who negotiates contracts of purchase and sale (as of real estate, commodities, or securities). He is a person who buys and sells goods or assets for others. He is an independent party, whose services are used extensively in some industries. He is an individual or firm that charges a fee or commission for executing buy and sell orders submitted by an investor. His prime responsibility is to bring sellers and buyers together and thus a broker is a third-person facilitator between a buyer and a seller. Brokers are almost always necessary for the purchase and sale of financial instruments. They are specially trained and licensed to buy and sell complicated products, distinguishing them from a salesman who sells simple goods on behalf of a manufacturer.
A broker can also refer to the role of a firm when it acts as an agent for a customer and charges the customer a commission for its services. One of the most common types of brokers is an investment broker or stockbroker. He is a middleman for investors buying shares of a publicly-traded company, commonly known as stock. In the real estate industry, a broker is a licensed real estate professional who typically represents the seller of a property. A broker will facilitate the sale of your home, or help you buy another home. Real estate brokers earn money through commissions that are based on the price of the sale they help facilitate. Some brokers, known as discount brokers, charge a smaller commission, sometimes in exchange for offering less advice or services than full-service brokerage firms. Insurance brokers will often work with many different insurance companies so they can offer a variety of options to their customers.
