Wetin Be Stockbroker And Wetin Dem Dey Do?

Stockbroker na di licensed firm wey dey stand between you and di stock market. You no fit waka enter exchange go buy share by yourself: na only member firm wey di exchange register fit send order enter di market, so na di broker dey carry your order go, hold di shares for you after, settle di trade, and charge you for di work. Plenty beginner guide dey explain share, dividend and liquidity but dem dey jump dis rung. Dis one na dat missing rung.

Wetin stockbroker dey actually do

Strip di work go di bone and di broker get five job:

• Dem dey take your instruction: which share, how many, market order or limit order, and how long di order go stay for market.
• Dem dey route am: di order dey waka go exchange or go one market maker wey dey quote price for dat share.
• Dem dey hold di shares: na dem account dey carry di stock, and na dem book dey record say na you get am.
• Dem dey settle di trade: cash and share dey change hand some days after di price print for di tape.
• Dem dey bill you: commission, di spread, FX for cross border, data fee, plus account charges.

Number one and number two na di part wey everybody dey see. Number three na di part wey dey confuse person di day e wan transfer account or cash out. We go land for dat one below.

Wetin di broker dey buy for you

Di thing wey your money dey turn into na share, and one share no carry di same price for every company. Make we look some household American names and wetin one single share of each dey cost.

SELECT
    ticker,
    round(toFloat64(argMax(close, date)), 2) AS share_price_usd,
    formatDateTime(max(date), '%b %e, %Y')   AS as_of_label
FROM global_markets.stocks_daily_aggs
WHERE ticker IN ('MSFT', 'AAPL', 'JNJ', 'KO', 'VZ', 'F')
  AND date >= today() - 12
GROUP BY ticker
ORDER BY share_price_usd DESC

As of Oct 7, 2026, one share of MSFT na $525.69, while F na just $12.22. Na 6 names dey di panel. With dat kind gap, "I wan buy $100 of share" fit mean plenty share for one name and less than one share for anoda. Plenty app broker dey sell fractional share, wey mean say dem go buy piece of one share for you and keep dat piece for dem own book.

Wen your order reach market, where e dey land

Di broker no dey sell you share from im pocket most time. Dem dey drop your order inside di same market wia every other person dey trade. Di clock matter plenty: di volume no dey spread flat across di day. Dis panel take AAPL for di last few weeks and sum di shares wey trade for each hour of di New York clock.

SELECT
    formatDateTime(toStartOfHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')), '%H:00') AS et_hour,
    round(toFloat64(sum(volume)) / 1e6, 1) AS shares_traded_millions
FROM global_markets.delayed_stocks_minute_aggs
WHERE ticker = 'AAPL'
  AND window_start >= today() - 45
GROUP BY et_hour
ORDER BY et_hour

Di two edge of di table, 00:00 ET and 23:00 ET, na di thin hours: premarket and after hours be dat, and no be every broker dey let retail order enter dem windows. Di fat hours dey for di middle, during di regular session. If your broker only dey send order during regular session, anything you enter for night go siddon for queue till di market open. We don break dat night side for after hours and premarket trading.

Di NGX side: broker and CSCS account

For Naija market, di broker na dealing member of di exchange. Wen you open account with dem, dem go also arrange CSCS account for you, and na dat account dey hold di shares you buy for NGX for electronic form. Di holding dey sit for your own identity, no be for di broker own, and dat separation na wetin dey let you move from one broker go anoda without selling anything.

Everything for dis side dey happen for naira. After every trade di broker go send you contract note, and dat paper na your receipt: e dey carry di price, di quantity, every charge, and di settlement date. Keep am, and compare am with your statement.

Di app broker side: naira dey comot, dollar dey buy

Na here plenty people dey miss road. Wen you fund one app broker with naira and you buy US share, di share no dey bought with naira. Your naira dey convert to dollar first for one rate wey di broker pick, FX charge dey comot (sometimes e dey hide inside di rate, no be separate line), and na di dollar wey remain dey buy di share for di US market. Di price wey you see for di first panel na dollar price.

Two thing dey follow from dat arrangement:

• Di share count wey you get dey follow di dollar amount after conversion, no be di naira wey comot from your bank.
• Wen you wan cash out, di same leg dey run backward, and di rate fit don change by then.

Di full breakdown of every charge wey dey hide inside one single trade dey for wetin e dey cost to trade one stock.

Who name dey di company register?

Wen you buy US share through broker, di company register no dey carry your name. E dey carry di broker name, or di name of di custodian wey di broker dey use, and na di broker book dey record say na you be di beneficial owner. Dem dey call am street name. Di oda arrangement, wia your own name dey sit for di company register direct, na holder of record.

Street name no mean say dem thief your share. E mean say your claim dey against di broker book. Regulator rule dey force broker keep customer asset separate from di firm own asset, and dat separation na di spine of di whole thing. E also na why street name vs holder of record dey matter di day you wan move account: na di broker book dem dey move, no be di company register.

Dividend still dey reach you under street name. Di company pay di custodian, di custodian pass am go your broker, di broker credit your account. Make we see di cash wey di same names pay per share over di last year.

SELECT
    ticker,
    round(toFloat64(sum(cash_per_share)), 2) AS dividends_per_share_12m,
    count()                                  AS payouts_12m
FROM
(
    SELECT
        ticker,
        ex_dividend_date,
        max(cash_amount) AS cash_per_share
    FROM global_markets.stocks_dividends
    WHERE ticker IN ('MSFT', 'AAPL', 'JNJ', 'KO', 'VZ', 'F')
      AND ex_dividend_date >= today() - 365
      AND ex_dividend_date <= today()
    GROUP BY ticker, ex_dividend_date
)
GROUP BY ticker
ORDER BY dividends_per_share_12m DESC

JNJ pay di biggest cash per share for di list, $5.28 across 4 payment for di trailing year, while F pay $0.6 per share. Every kobo of dat cash waka pass di broker before e land for your account, and na di broker statement go show am. No letter dey come from di company go meet you.

Wen di trade go finally finish

Settlement na di day wey di share and di money actually change hand. US equity market move to T plus 1 for May 2024, wey mean trade wey print today dey settle di next trading day. Trading day no be calendar day: weekend and exchange holiday dey push di date forward.

SELECT
    toString(date)                   AS closure_date,
    formatDateTime(date, '%a %b %e') AS closure_label,
    any(name)                        AS holiday,
    any(status)                      AS day_status,
    dateDiff('day', today(), date)   AS days_away
FROM global_markets.stocks_market_holidays
WHERE date >= today()
GROUP BY date
ORDER BY date
LIMIT 10

Di next closure wey dey front na Thanksgiving on Thu Nov 26, 50 days from today, and di panel carry 10 dated closure. Di status column dey mark whether na full closure or early close, and di early close one still dey settle like normal session. If you sell di day before one of dem, count di trading day, no be di calendar day. Di full mechanics dey for how T plus 1 settlement dey work. For di naira side, di NGX cycle different from di US own, and your contract note dey carry di exact settlement date for dat trade. Read am instead of guessing.

How to check say di broker register before you send money

Dis na di part wey dey save person from story. Before any kobo comot:

• Di name wey dey di app no be always di licensed entity. Look for di legal firm name for di small print, na dat one you go carry go di register.
• For Naija operator: check di SEC Nigeria register of capital market operators, and check say di firm dey di exchange dealing member list. Confirm say di CSCS account dem open na for your own name, and say statement dey reach you direct.
• For US side: check di firm for FINRA BrokerCheck, wey dey show license, employment history and disclosure. Check say dem be member of SIPC. SIPC dey cover missing customer asset if di firm fail, up to $500,000 per customer, wey include $250,000 cash. E no dey cover money wey you lose wen price drop.
• For any side: if dem tell you make you send money go personal account, or dem promise fixed monthly return, or dem no fit give you statement wey carry your name, stop dia.

FAQ

Wetin be stockbroker for plain word?

Na licensed firm wey dey carry your buy or sell instruction go di market, hold di shares for you after, and settle di trade. Di individual person wey dey work for di firm fit carry di same title, but na di firm get di license.

I need CSCS account before I fit buy share for NGX?

Yes. Di shares wey you buy for di exchange dey hold for electronic form inside CSCS, and na di broker dey arrange dat account for you di time you dey open di trading account.

If I fund with naira, na naira dem take buy di US share?

No. Di naira dey convert to dollar first, FX charge dey comot, and na di dollar wey remain dey buy di share for di US market. Your final share count dey follow di dollar amount, no be di naira figure wey leave your bank.

Why my name no dey di company register?

Most broker dey hold customer share for street name, wey mean di broker or im custodian name dey di register while di broker book dey show say na you be di owner. Dat arrangement na wetin dey make transfer and sale fast for electronic market.

Wetin go happen if my broker fold up?

Customer asset suppose dey separate from di firm own asset. For US broker wey be SIPC member, SIPC dey step in for missing asset up to di statutory limit. For Naija side, di holding dey sit for CSCS for your own name and di regulator get process for am. None of dis dey protect you from price wey fall.

Every panel for dis page carry di exact SQL under am, so you fit open any one go see how dem count di number. If you wan ask your own question, like wetin one share of a name dey cost today, you fit ask am for plain English for di Strasmore terminal.