Floor Trader

Source: Encyclopedia of Banking & Finance (9h Edition) by Charles J Woelfel
(We recommend this as work of authority and you can order it here)      

Floor professionals on the trading floor of the NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE include the following:

1. Commission brokers, employed by member firms to represent their customers' orders on the trading floor.

2. Floor brokers, primarily individual entrepreneurs, who act as independent commission brokers for a variety of clients.

3. Registered competitive market makers (RCMM), who have specific obligations to trade for their own or their firms' accounts when called upon by an exchange official by making a bid or offer that will narrow the existing quote spread or improve the depth of an existing quote.  An RCMM may also be asked to assist a commission broker or a floor broker in executing a customer's otherwise unexecutable order.

4. Competitive traders, who trade for their own accounts, under stringent exchange rules designed to assure that their activities contribute to market liquidity.  On January 19, 1977, the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) approved this new designation of "competitive traders" for those members who contribute to liquidity and continuity on the floor by trading for their own account and also approved new minimum access requirements for this category of membership.

5. Stock specialists, key exchange members who are responsible for the maintenance of fair and orderly markets in exchange-listed stocks assigned to them by acting as agent and principal in such stocks, in accordance with close SEC and New York Stock Exchange rules and policies.

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