Stockbroker or not? Here are the facts
The firms we cover come in two types: registered stockbrokers and registered financial services providers that offer stockbroking-like services, writes Stuart Theobald
The firms we cover come in two types: registered stockbrokers and registered financial services providers (FSPs) that offer stockbroking-like services, writes Stuart Theobald. Registered stockbrokers tend to be older firms focused on personal relationships with clients, while FSPs tend to be online-and execution-only, and focused on derivatives such as contracts for difference. Only registered stockbrokers are allowed to call themselves "stockbrokers" in terms of legislation, though it has become common usage to refer to everyone who supplies stockbroking-like services as stockbrokers. There is more to it than the name though: clients of registered stockbrokers hold their securities in their own name in an account directly with the JSE. FSPs tend to provide their services using third parties and hold client assets in a segregated entity that has an account with the JSE. The difference between the two is negligible to most clients. FSPs tend to be cheaper because they avoid a lot of ...
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