Legal Definitions - institutional broker

An institutional broker is a type of broker who trades securities for institutional clients such as banks, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies. A broker is an agent who acts as an intermediary or negotiator between prospective buyers and sellers. They are employed to make bargains and contracts between other persons in matters of trade, commerce, or navigation.

For example, if a pension fund wants to buy shares of a company, they would hire an institutional broker to execute the trade on their behalf. The broker would use their expertise and connections to find the best price and execute the trade efficiently.

Institutional brokers differ from retail brokers who work with individual investors. Institutional clients typically have larger portfolios and require more specialized services, such as research and analysis of market trends.