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The differences between sales traders and brokers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a broker has an average salary of $124,861, which is higher than the $108,427 average annual salary of a sales trader.
The top three skills for a sales trader include equities, derivative and institutional clients. The most important skills for a broker are brokerage, financial services, and insurance products.
| Sales Trader | Broker | |
| Yearly salary | $108,427 | $124,861 |
| Hourly rate | $52.13 | $60.03 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 19,736 | 2,770 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A sales trader is responsible for evaluating and monitoring the stock market performance to advise the clients on which financial instruments are best to buy or sell. Sales traders review the clients' account portfolios and determine their risk appetite to choose the best investment options for their financial goals and objectives. They also research stock prediction and conduct statistical analysis to maintain consistent cash flow for the accounts. A sales trader must have excellent communication and analytical skills, especially in generating financial and investment reports for clients' discussion and reference.
Brokers can either be a firm or an individual acting as an intermediary between a securities exchange and an investor. They often provide services to individual investors and traders who cannot engage directly with security exchanges, which only accept orders from their members. They provide investors and traders with an investment plan, market intelligence, and research. They may cross-sell some financial services and products offered by their brokerage firms. They are also typically classified as discount or full-service brokers.
Sales traders and brokers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Trader | Broker | |
| Average salary | $108,427 | $124,861 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $185,000 | Between $68,000 And $227,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Merrill Lynch | Child Guidance & Family Solutions |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a sales trader and a broker in terms of educational background:
| Sales Trader | Broker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Finance | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between sales traders' and brokers' demographics:
| Sales Trader | Broker | |
| Average age | 43 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.4% Female, 17.6% | Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 6.9% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 13% |