Sometimes middlemen are blood-sucking-leech-level-annoying, and sometimes they’re a necessity. Likely an evil one.
A financial intermediary is a middleman in a financial transaction. Banks (commercial and investment) use financial intermediaries, as do funds (think: mutual, pension, etc.) before sealing the deal. For a small fee.
Why might you want a financial intermediary? Financial intermediaries usually know a lot more about risk, asset management, and investment banks than you do, so it’s no wonder they help banks and funds get their ducks in a row. In the same way that you’d probably want a lawyer in a court case, banks employ financial intermediaries for large financial transactions.
Their collective motto: "Check yoself before you wreck yoself."
See: Investment Banker. And Shmoop has a whole Wall Street Careers section on this lovely topic, should it tickle your commission bone.
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Finance: What is a Full-Service Broker?3 Views
Finance a la shmoop what is a full-service broker? full-service
"everything" close relative of the bulge bracket remember those guys want
to trade stocks here at this full service brokerage well you got it [Clipboard appears with checklist]
how about trading some bonds yep need investment advice hoo you bet we got rap
accounts here too does it have to be good advice well it's different gonna
retire well they'll suggest Goodyear or fire stone or Michelin if they're you
know socialist and European gonna quit working and play golf all day well then [Man playing golf]
a full service broker has advice for that as well want tax planning yep
referrals to other professionals like estate planning lawyers and that kind of
stuff got a kid heading to college in a decade all right well it's time to talk
529 savings plan got a grandparent dying soon whoo time to talk IRA distributions
and charity need Warriors tickets yeah what well they're full service they just
build they'll charge you for it but they're full full something [State Warriors basketball team playing a game]
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