Stock Trading and Other Things

What is the difference between being a broker-dealer and being a day trader?

I'm interning at a local broker-dealer firm and they primarily trade fixed income securities, but I am having trouble trying to figure out how this is different from day trading. Is being a day trader focused primarily on trying to exploit price differences in assets/currencies and buying low and selling high just to make a quick profit? Any explanation would be helpful!

Public Comments

1. broker/dealers are middle men. they probably give a wider bid/ask spread than they got them for and then hedge away the price risk. day traders, on the other hand, are typically taking on price risk, trying to make a profit. they aren't price makers, but price takers. however, day traders can trade anything and could be trading volatility or spreads, so they are not always interested directly in the price.

2. broker/dealers are middle men. they probably give a wider bid/ask spread than they got them for and then hedge away the price risk. day traders, on the other hand, are typically taking on price risk, trying to make a profit. they aren't price makers, but price takers. however, day traders can trade anything and could be trading volatility or spreads, so they are not always interested directly in the price.