Stock Broker

A Stockbroker or Share Broker is a registered professional who works with brokerage companies or works independently as a financial advisor, providing investment management services and also executing the investment transaction at the financial markets (stock exchanges).

As a Stockbroker, you will sell stocks, buy stocks, and or other financial investments for your clients for a commission, flat rate or hourly rate. To understand more let’s understand these terms first:

Share: Share is the portion of the amount of the organization which someone owns. Like a company has 100 shares. 2 cofounders can own 50 shares each. So, they own 50% of the company each.

Stock: Let’s say these two co-founders also own few more shares in different companies. This group of shares is called stock.

Financial investments: it means investing your money into different things to get a good return in the future. Financial investment can be buying a property, buying shares, buying insurance, buying stocks, etc.

As a Stock Broker, you will represent your clients at the stock exchanges. You will have to be a registered stock broker at any of the Stock Exchange in India to take this career (before that you need to register with Securities and Exchange Board of India). Thus, you will be a registered investment advisor. You will be bound to take a decision that is financially sound for your client and does not suit your own interest.

However, to become a Stock Broker, you first will be required to work as an assistant broker with a brokerage company for 2 years or more. Then only you can register with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and any stock exchange market. Once you have the license, you can start practicing at stock brokerage work as an individual or for a company.

Only Stock Brokers are allowed to buy or sell stocks at the stock exchange. Thus, you will do all the required steps to buy or sell stocks for your client including paperwork.

Key roles and responsibilities

As a Stock Broker, depending upon your profile and specialization, your duties and responsibilities will vary as follows:

• You will work towards the financial interest of your client.
• You will sell securities and commodities to individual clients. At the same time, you will see also advise clients about investments and their financial situations.
• If needed, you will also manage the portfolio of your client.
• You will represent your client in the exchange market and sell or trade their stocks.
• You will regularly analyse, monitor and research about the performance of stocks, trade markets, etc.
• You have the duty to protect the interest of your client, so you will never advise any financial deal that benefits you directly.

You should have the following occupational interests:

Enterprising: You should have interests for Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiatives, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision making, risk-taking, and action orientation.

Conventional: You should have interests for Conventional Occupations. Conventional occupations involve repetitive and routine tasks as well as fixed processes or procedures for getting things done. These occupations involve working more with data, systems, and procedures and less with ideas or creativity.

Following personality attributes are required:

• You always or mostly prefer to stick within a routine or carry out routine and repetitive activities.
• You are always practical or in most situations.
• You are always or mostly disciplined in your action and behaviour.

You should have the following skills and knowledge:

• Communication skills: You should possess excellent communication skills, as you may have to work on project teams with various departments.
• Reading Comprehension: Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.
• Critical Thinking: Skills in the analysis of complex situations, using logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.
• Persuasion: Skills in persuading others to change their minds or behaviour.
• Accounting: Knowledge of various principles and methods for maintaining records of commercial and financial transactions and records, preparing various reports and statements, ensuring compliance with commercial and business laws and rules of a country, etc.
• Economics: Knowledge of economic principles and practices; understanding how various resources such as land, labour, and capital are used; how market demands rise and fall; how a country collects and spends money; and similar other economic issues and situations.
• Customer Service: Knowledge about how to provide customer services. This includes understanding customer needs, helping customers to use products and services, answering customer queries, handling customer complaints and grievances, and evaluating customer satisfaction.
• English Language: Knowledge about English grammar, words, spelling, sentence construction, using English to communicate with others, reading in English, etc.
• Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, statistics, and other mathematical disciplines and their applications.
• Sales and Promotion: Knowledge of the various principles, theories, methods, systems and processes to communicate and promote the benefits of various products or services of an organisation to a targeted group of customers, influencing their buying decisions and convincing them to buy the products or services.
• Marketing: Knowledge of the various principles, theories, methods, systems, and processes to understand the needs of a category of customers and then to create, to communicate, and delivering various products and services in order to satisfy the needs of the customers.

You should have the following aptitudes and abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oran Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules and common logic to specific problems to produce answers that are logical and make sense. For example, understanding the reasons behind an event or a situation using general rules and common logic.
• Articulation   The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.