Legal Definitions - bucketing

Definition: Bucketing is an illegal practice in the securities market where a broker receives an order to buy or sell stocks but does not execute the order immediately. Instead, the broker waits for the market to move in a favorable direction and then executes the order, but confirms it to the customer at the original price.

Example: Let's say a customer places an order to buy 100 shares of XYZ stock at $50 per share. The broker receives the order but does not execute it immediately. Instead, the broker waits for the stock price to drop to $45 per share and then executes the order. However, the broker confirms the order to the customer at the original price of $50 per share, pocketing the difference of $5 per share.

Explanation: In this example, the broker engaged in bucketing by delaying the execution of the order and profiting from the difference in price. This practice is illegal because it violates the duty of the broker to execute orders in a timely and fair manner, and it harms the customer by depriving them of the opportunity to benefit from the market movement.