Member Firm

OK, what’s the big club here? Skull and Bones? No. Alpha Beta Chi? No. Order of the Phoenix? Uh...no. And our apologies to Ms. Rowling.

It’s one of the more exclusive clubs on Wall Street.

A member firm is a broker dealer wherein at least one of the key people who run the firm is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, or of another major exchange or clearing house corporation...or a playah in an SRO...a self regulatory organization like FINRA, or CBOT, or…one of dozens of other orgs with mysterious-looking acronyms.

And...that’s basically it. The key here is that your firm has somebody who’s connected…in a not-New-York-mafia kind of way…in that they’re able to trade on the exchange floor, giving their firm a leg up. Just a side note: This club is also a biggie on Wall Street. But...you’ve got to be over 21 and have a keen appreciation of finance puns to get in…

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)