In addition to the services provided by limited service brokers, broker/dealers offer other financial services to investors and issuers for a fee. These services include:
Limited service brokers are authorised to handle all functions necessary for securities trading, including:
They facilitate transactions for the investor but are not allowed to give advice or hold money on behalf of the investor, except for settling transactions. Limited service brokers charge fees for their services.
An intermediary is a firm licensed under the Securities Act as a broker dealer or a limited service broker to trade securities on behalf of investors. The ECSE-member intermediaries, currently all broker dealers, are located in territories throughout the ECCU.
Firms licensed to act as securities market intermediaries, referred to as and broker dealers, and are member of the ECSE, handle the purchase and sale of securities for investors on the ECSE. If you would like to invest, you should contact a local broker dealer for information about listed companies. Names and addresses of licensed broker dealers can be found here.
Anyone can trade on the ECSE as long as the regulations and guidelines set by the Securities Act are strictly followed. An important objective of this regional capital market is to encourage the active participation of citizens of the ECCU, living at home or abroad. Nevertheless, investors of all nationalities are invited and encouraged to trade on the ECSE.
Several factors affect the price of securities:
The interest on a bond is fixed when purchased. Therefore, this investment may not offer the high returns that stocks do. Another risk is that the issuer may run into financial difficulty and be unable to meet its obligations to make interest payments and/or repay the principal to the bondholder.
An investor who buys corporate or government bonds receives interest payments periodically as well as the repayment of the original amount loaned (the principal) at a specified date in the future. Even if the company does poorly, it is still obligated to pay interest to its bondholders. Companies and governments rarely default on bond payments, making this form of investment considerably safer than others.
There is an element of risk in every investment. Although historically stocks have increased in value, there is always the risk that their value may decrease. This depends on the performance of the company, economic conditions, and how investors perceive the company. In general, while stocks may fluctuate in value over time, they tend to perform well relative to other financial products