Question

Difficulty: EasySettlement Dates, Trade Confirmations, and Corporate Actions

A retail investor places an order to purchase shares of stock, and the executing broker-dealer fills the order directly from its own proprietary account inventory. In what capacity is the firm acting for this transaction, and what compensation details must be disclosed on the trade confirmation?

  1. The firm is acting as a principal (dealer) and must disclose the mark-up added to the transaction price.Answer
  2. B
    The firm is acting as an agent (broker) and must disclose the commission charged for executing the trade.
  3. C
    The firm is acting as a principal (dealer) and must disclose the commission charged to the customer.
  4. D
    The firm is acting as an agent (broker) and must disclose the mark-down applied to the trade.

Answer

The firm is acting as a principal (dealer) and must disclose the mark-up added to the transaction price.
When a broker-dealer fills a customer order using its own inventory, it acts as a principal (dealer). For a retail sale from inventory, the firm sells at a net price that includes a mark-up, which must be explicitly disclosed on the trade confirmation along with the firm's capacity.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the broker-dealer's capacity based on trade execution.
Because the firm executes the transaction from its own inventory, it is taking a principal position in the trade.
Trading for one's own account makes the firm a principal/dealer, whereas matching third-party buyers and sellers makes it an agent/broker.
2
Identify the required remuneration disclosure for a principal trade.
Principal sales to customers involve adding a mark-up to the net price, which must be disclosed on the trade confirmation.
FINRA and SEC trade confirmation rules require disclosing the capacity in which the broker-dealer acted and the associated compensation (mark-up/mark-down for principal trades vs. commission for agency trades).

Key Concept

Broker-Dealer Capacity and Remuneration Disclosure on Trade Confirmations
Estimated Time:45s
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