Stock trader

Person or company involved in trading equity securities Courtyard of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (Beurs van Hendrick de Keyser) by Emanuel de Witte, 1653 Courtyard of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (Beurs van Hendrick de Keyser in Dutch) Historical photo of stock traders and stockbrokers in the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (1963) A stock trader or equity trader or share trader, also called a stock investor, is a person or company involved in trading stocks and attempting to profit from the purchase and sale of those securities. Stock traders may be an investor, agent, hedger, arbitrageur, speculator, or stockbroker. Such equity trading in large publicly traded companies may be through a stock exchange. Stock shares in smaller public companies may be bought and sold in over-the-counter (OTC) markets or in some instances in equity crowdfunding platforms. Stock traders can trade on their own account, called proprietary trading or self-directed trading, or through an agent authorized to buy and sell on the owner's behalf. That agent is referred to as a stockbroker. Agents are paid a commission for performing the trade. Proprietary or self-directed traders who use online