What is a Full-Service Broker?

A licensed broker-dealer or brokerage firm that provides a large number of services for clients and offers a wide range of products is a full-service broker. This broker executes large trades for clients and offers services such as tax assistance, research and portfolio, and investment advice, retirement planning, estate planning, and other services to clients. Full-service brokers also provide personalized services for their clients, they provide handholding to clients, reassuring them that they would execute their trades and stand in the gap for them. Due to the nature and complexity of services that full-service brokers offer, they charge higher commissions than discount brokers.

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What Does a Full-Service Broker Do?

Full-service brokers help clients facilitate and execute trades and offer technical support to them. These brokers are also licensed to help their clients with tax planning, estate planning, and portfolio planning. One of the advantages of full-service brokers is the personalized or individual services they offer to clients. These brokers are in a mission to help their clients achieve their investment goals, thereby provide handhold them. The services rendered by full-service brokers do not come cheap, they charge higher commissions in exchange for managing portfolios and executing investment goals for clients.

Stockbrokers and Financial Advisors

Stockbrokers and financial advisors are other professionals that offer services similar to those of Full-Service brokers. While stockbrokers offer transactional and products-based services to clients, financial advisors offer advisory services, including estate planning, budgeting, and tax planning, financial planning and others. Stockbrokers also manage the investment of clients and offer advice in certain cases. As stipulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), stockbrokers need to obtain licensing by passing the required examinations such as the Series 7, Series 63 and Series 65 exams. Stockholders who pass the exams and meet other requirements of FINRA are certified to offer financial advice and manage their client's investment given their broad knowledge of stocks, options, and bonds.

Additional Benefits of Full Service

The extra benefits clients get to derive from full-service brokers are as follow;

• Full-service brokers provide recommendations and advisory service to clients following in-depth research and analysis.
• Full-service brokers or brokerage firms have research departments that provide access to firsthand information about the markets and investments to clients.
• They are licensed to provide estate planning, tax planning, and financial planning services to clients.
• Full-service brokers often have investment bank outlets that help investors access investment opportunities and financial products that would hitherto not be found in all markets.
• They offer personalized services to clients as well as ease of trading.
• Full-service brokers have physical offices and also establish online trading or request platforms that can easily be accessed by clients.