Agency Broker

Honey, baby, cookie, lovey—that's the hello of a different kind of agent: the guy in the bright yellow suit with awesome Hollywood hair.

But a broker agent, or agency broker, is just an agent for a fund or any large agency. This guy usually works for large companies placing big block orders on exchanges. Broker agents must try to get their clients the best prices and look out for the clients' best interests—in theory. In reality, there's lots of fancy footwork they can do to get around these rules (see front running for the gory details).

Broker-dealers are self-dealers: they look out for numero uno and buy on behalf of themselves. They aren't agents and they must only fulfill orders they intend to see through. Ciao, baby.