As individual investors, many of us trust our money to large securities firms or investment dealers. Typically employing tens of thousands of employees, the most recognized firms give investors confidence that their investment funds are managed by a seasoned team of professionals. However, we usually interact with these large businesses only by means of a single intermediary, such as our investment advisor or broker. So how does a large securities house really work? In this article, we will look at a typical securities firm, including its different departments and the roles of various employees. (To learn more about financial planners read Financial Planners: Practice What You Preach .)

Departments and Divisions

Typically, a large firm has the following departments: sales, underwriting and financing, trading, research and portfolio. and administration. There are many small boutique firms that may serve only a single department of a business (i.e. retail sales), but even in this limited operation, their activities might resemble those of the respective department of a larger firm.

Sales is likely the department employing the largest number of people in the firm and it is the area that individual retail investors interact with the most. Within the retail sales force, investment advisors may focus on servicing a specific area of the investment industry, or they may provide a one-stop-shop for all retail investment needs. For example, an investment advisor may perform only those services that are associated with a stock broker, or offer other services as well, such as stock and mutual fund transactions, bond trading, life insurance sales and so forth. In a small firm, the activities of the investment advisor are likely to be more diverse.

A second division within the sales department is institutional sales. It is primarily involved in selling new securities issues to traders working at institutional client firms, such as pension funds and mutual funds. If a hot new securities issue generates so much interest that it quickly becomes oversubscribed. the job of institutional sales is as simple as allocating shares to the best clients (as a reward for their ongoing business).

Due to the large dollar volume of transactions and the commissions from both new issues and existing accounts, the institutional sales department often generates a significant portion of the firm’s profits (making institutional salespeople some of the best-paid personnel in the entire firm). The institutional sales department works closely with the firm’s trading department (discussed below) to maintain accounts in good standing.

Underwriting / Financing

The firm’s institutional sales division also works closely with the underwriting or financing department, which coordinates new securities issues and/or follow-up securities issues on the secondary market. The underwriting or finance department negotiates with the companies or governments issuing the securities, establishing their type of security, its price, an interest rate (if applicable) and other special features and protective provisions.

The firm’s underwriting or financing department may be split into two divisions: the first relating to matters of corporate finance and the second to those of government finance. In a fully-integrated firm, these departments would be quite distinct, as the needs of corporations and governments vary widely. For example, the corporate finance department would require familiarity with stocks, bonds, and other securities, while the government department might be more geared toward bond and Treasury bill issues.

The firm’s trading department also has separate divisions, most likely according to the type of securities being traded: bonds, stocks and various other specialized financial instruments. Traders in the bond division may have sub-specializations, such as government or corporate money market instruments or bonds, or even such instruments as debentures.

The stock-trading department executes orders from retail and institutional sales staff. Stock traders maintain close links with traders on the floor of stock exchanges ; although, with the rise of electronic trading, the interaction may be with a trading computer instead of a human being.

The firm’s trading department may also include a division geared toward various other specialized instruments, perhaps mutual funds or exchange-traded options. or commodity and financial futures contracts.

Research and Portfolio

The research department supports all other departments. Its securities analysts provide vital analysis and data to aid traders, salespeople and underwriters. This data is necessary for the selling and pricing of existing securities trades and new issues. The firm’s research department may consist of economists, technical analysts. and research analysts who specialize in specific types of securities or specific industries (within the equities specialization).

The research department may be further divided into retail and institutional divisions, although if the firm has only one research department, research reports geared to institutional clients may also be made available to retail investors. If the firm hosts a single institutional research department, it would be geared toward analyzing potential new issues, takeovers. and mergers. in addition to providing ongoing coverage of securities held by institutional clients. Together with the retail department, analysts may be further involved in structuring portfolios for individual and small-business accounts.

Administration

The administration department is a vital component of the firm’s organization. It not only maintains proper paperwork and accounting for all trades and transactions, but also ensures compliance with securities legislation and oversees internal human resources matters. All trades made by the firm must be accounted for, and all incoming and outgoing funds and securities must be continually balanced. Securities must be checked for registration, and delivery requirements and dividend payments must be credited to accounts as received.

In the credit and compliance division. client accounts are constantly monitored for industry and firm compliance, ensuring that payments and securities are received by their due dates and that margin accounts fulfill applicable margin requirements. The financial division oversees accounting matters such as payroll, budgeting, and financial reports and statements. Minimum capital levels are maintained according to industry requirements, ensuring that the various departments within the firm hold sufficient funds to accommodate changes in the firm’s business.

The Bottom Line

Despite their importance to the investment industry and the economy at large, securities firms are still somewhat of a mystery to the average investor. Securities firms tend to maintain a rather secretive culture of inner-circle participants, due largely to the players’ specialized roles and occupations. Many retail investors interact with only their personal financial advisor or broker, and therefore lack insight into the larger set of roles within the firm. It benefits every investor to know who’s who behind that set of magnificent oak doors, as each of the employees in a securities firm affects the real returns of one’s investment portfolio. (To learn more read Brokerage Functions: Underwriting And Agency Roles .)