Find A Stock Broker - Questions You Can Ask To Make Educated Decisions

By Matthew Mc Dermott

There are several reasons you may want to find a stock broker. You could be looking for a job, wanting to invest internationally, or simply switching stock brokers because you don't like how you were serviced by your previous broker. To be better prepared, here are a few things you should know (and have available) before making that call:

Looking For A Stock Broker Job:

1) Have you pursued many of the online forums and brokerage firm recruitment services?

2) Which NASD licenses do you currently have? And are they registered properly?

3) Do you have any compliance concerns which show on the NASD (now FINRA) Broker Check website?

4) Are you up-to-date with your continuing education?

5) The facts and figures about your current book of business, how many customer leads you have (which you are allowed to bring with you after clearance from your compliance department), and other industry benchmarks.

Finding A Domestic Stock Broker:

1) What is your available capital currently?

2) Your net worth, liquid net worth, and any income you stand to gain - such as a bonus. You do not have to disclose all of these, but it helps for YOU to know them about YOURSELF!

3) What you want the broker to do for you: make stock picks, give you overall financial plan, help you with a certain asset class, be available to talk to you by phone whenever you call (or will e-mail suffice), if you need "hand-holding", offer your direct access to the markets (like daytrading software), give you research reports, etc.

4) What is your risk tolerance? Your broker needs to know this for the "Know Your Customer" rule.

5) Does your broker need to be local so you can meet face-to-face?

6) What is your experience in the markets, especially the assets/derivatives in which your broker specializes? Your broker needs to know this for the "Know Your Customer" rule.

7) Are you familiar with the choices for order routing and extra transaction costs (e.g. ECN fees)?

Finding An International Broker (in addition to the items listed above):

1) Know the specific reasons why you need to contact an international broker.

2) Are you aware of any legal constraints about your investing internationally?

3) Are you aware of the risks due to currency fluctuations?

4) Are you aware of any additional taxes you may pay after liquidating positions internationally?

5) Are you aware of all transaction costs?

6) Do you know how to instruct your broker on how to "mark" your order, such as with a CFD designation or execute the order only during the "auction market" session?

While these questions are rather basic, and there are many more basic questions, they hopefully will serve as a reminder of what you need to determine BEFORE calling a brokerage firm. Answering these questions will go a long way toward making you educated so that you find a stock broker right for you.

If you want to find the phone number of a particular stock broker around the world, visit http://www.GNTA.net

Sign up for the free membership, log in when you get the password, and select the "Securities Industry" link which appears after you log in. You will get brokerage contact information for several thousand brokerage firms around the world, including the entire suite of U.S. brokers. More countries will be added in the ensuing weeks.

You also will find links to every exchange around the world by clicking the "Select A Country" link and then choosing the country which interests you.

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