| Stock market investing guide |
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 320,000 brokers and traders are currently employed as securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents. Of those agents working solely in securities trading, around 143,000 work exclusively for brokerages and exchanges while nearly 57,000 are self-employed independent agents. Nearly 264,000 agents work with wage and salary compensation while the remaining agents receive only commission incentives. A total of 829,700 people are employed as security and commodity brokers or as service personnel. Stock Market Investing for fun and profit
Stock Market Trading:StatisticsEmployment OverviewOne in five securities traders work in the depository and non-depository credit intermediation industries, which includes traders employed by commercial banks, savings institutions, and credit unions. The credit intermediation industry encompasses banking institution, credit companies, and consumer lending companies. Credit intermediation also encompasses financial activities that are invisible to third-parties outside of the financial industry, including the repackaging of assets, ranging from equities to mortgages, for sale to other lenders or banking institutions. Unequal Purchasing Power DynamicsWhile only 2 out of every 10 equities traded on financial markets are held by small investors, most investors fall into the "retail investor" category. The remaining 80% of equities traded move through channels such as large brokerage firms, corporate banks, or holdings corporations. The disparity shows the unequal purchasing power that exists amongst large-scale equity traders and their influence on economic activity. Median Salary RangesAcross the industry, the median salary for all securities, commodities, and financial service agents was $68,500 in May of 2006. The middle half of the employment pool earned between $42,630 and $126,290 while the lowest ten percent earned approximately $31,170. The highest ten-percent earned more than $145,600. Because of the volatile nature of short- trading, small investors and independent brokers sometimes earn geometrically higher earnings in any given year, while credit intermediaries are typically paid considerably less.
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