What Do Nigerian Stock Brokers Do?

Temitope

Temitope Akinola
A stock broker is a person who works for a bank or a brokerage house buying and selling stocks on behalf of clients. Such an individual or firm is licensed and regulated by the Nigerian stock exchange (see complete list of approved stock brokers in Nigeria and their current status).

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People who have opinions about the stock broker trade picture a wheeling and dealing business professional in a suit making a great deal of money. It is very possible to find great success as a stock broker, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done to earn that success.

Qualification

As far as formal education goes, most banks and brokerage houses prefer stock brokers with college degrees in economics, finance, business or math. In reality, there is no single degree that is ideal for a stock broker. The primary job of a stock broker is to find new clients and sell securities, so a relevant degree in sales or marketing would be appropriate as well. A good knowledge of how the stock market works and a passion for personal and corporate finance will also be an added advantage.

Before you can start your career as a stock broker, your employer will send you to get licensed first. Some brokerage houses and banks pay for their new brokers to get licensed, while others have the new brokers pay for it. You may need to go through NSE rules and regulations for stockbrokers to get familiar with the requirements and processes.

The Job Of A Stock Broker

A stock broker is tasked to go find clients that want to invest in the stock market and then make trades on behalf of those clients. Most brokerage houses have lead generation programs they use to help brokers find clients and many banks have a steady stream of clients that come into the bank to buy stocks. But if you want to be successful as a stock broker, then you need to become comfortable with looking for new clients.

Once a broker has a client, then the broker will map out an investment strategy with that client and get the client to deposit cash into a broker account. The broker then makes trades on behalf of that client and the broker gets a commission from each trade. The stock broker gets a commission regardless as to whether the trade made the client money or not.

Most brokerage houses and banks start new brokers off on a salary. It is common for a bank to keep their brokers on salary, although it is not unusual for a bank to offer quarterly bonuses to stock brokers based on their performance.

Many brokerage houses in Nigeria can also slowly transition the broker from a salary pay structure, to an all commission structure. Aggressive and successful stock brokers therefore can make a great deal of money with an all commission pay structure. But there are plenty of brokers who struggle as well.

Stock brokers are essentially sales professionals who are experts in the stock market. Their goal is to help their clients make money so that those clients continue to place orders. A successful career as a stock broker can be extremely lucrative and it can also give you the chance to meet many different kinds of people.
 
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