Title: Services Offered by Securities Firms versus Investment Banks
1Services Offered by Securities Firms versus
Investment Banks
- Investment Banks
- raise the debt and equity securities for
corporations or governments including the
origination, underwriting, and placement of
securities in money and capital markets - Securities Firms
- services involve assistance in the trading of
securities in the secondary markets (brokerage
services or market making) - The largest companies in the industry perform
multiple services (e.g., underwriting and
brokerage) and are generally called investment
banks - advise corporations on mergers and acquisitions
as well as advising on the restructuring of
existing corporations
2Size, Structure, and Composition of the Industry
- Three major types of firms
- national full-line investment banks that service
retail and corporate customers (e.g., Merrill
Lynch) - national full-line firms that specialize more in
corporate finance (e.g., Goldman Sachs) - the remainder of the industry and includes four
classes - specialized investment bank subsidiaries of
commercial banks - specialized discount brokers
- regional securities firms
- specialized electronic trading securities firms
3Securities Firm and Investment Bank Activity Areas
- Securities firms and investment banks engage in
as many as seven key activity areas - Investing
- Investment Banking
- Market Making
- Trading
- Cash Management
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Other Service Functions
4Investing
- Involves managing pools of assets such as mutual
funds - Compete with commercial banks, life insurance
companies, and pension funds - Manage funds either as agents for other investors
or as principals - Objective is to select asset portfolios to beat
some return-risk performance benchmark such as
the SP 500
5Investment Banking
- Refers to activities related to underwriting and
distributing new issues of debt and equity
securities - Industry is dominated by a small number of
underwriting firms - Securities underwriting can be undertaken through
either public or private offerings - Private placement - securities issue placed with
one of a few large institutional investors - Public placement - may be underwritten on a best
efforts or firm commitment basis and offered to
the public
6Market Making
- Involves the creation of a secondary market in an
asset by a securities firm or investment bank - Either agency or principal transactions
- Agency transactions - two-way transactions on
behalf of customers - Principal transactions - the market maker seeks
to profit on the price movements of securities
and takes long or short inventory positions for
its own account
7Trading
- Closely related to market-making activities
- Six types of trading
- Position trading - purchases of large blocks on
expectation of favorable price move - Pure Arbitrage - buying an asset in one market
and selling it immediately in another market at a
higher price - Risk Arbitrage - buying securities in
anticipation of some information release - Program Trading - simultaneous buying and selling
using a computer program to initiate such trades - Stock Brokerage - trading of securities on behalf
of individuals - Electronic Brokerage - offered by major brokers,
direct access via internet to trading floor
8Cash Management
- Securities firms and investment banks offer bank
deposit-like cash management accounts (CMAs) to
individual investors - money market mutual fund sold by investment banks
that offer check-writing privileges
9Mergers and Acquisitions
- Frequently provide advice on, and assistance in,
mergers and acquisitions - assist in finding merger partners
- underwrite any new securities
- asses the value of target firms
- recommend terms of the merger agreement
- assist target firms in preventing a merger
10Other Service Functions
- Custody and escrow services
- Clearance and settlement services
- Research and advisory services
11Balance Sheet Assets
Assets Cash
27,780.4
1.26 Receivable from other broker-dealers
766,399.7 34.72 Receivable from
customers 135,723.3
6.15 Receivables from noncustomers
19,296.1 0.87 Long positions
in securities/commodities 514,949.9
23.33 Securities and investments not marketed
8,833.8 0.40 Securities purchased
w/resell agreement 647,360.8
29.33 Exchange membership
933.0 0.04 Other
assets
85,964.0 3.90 Total assets
2,111,191.2 100.00
12Balance Sheet Liabilities
Liabilities Bank loans payable
47,363.2
2.15 Payables to other broker-dealers
361,774.7 16.39 Payables to
noncustomers
39,604.9 1.79 Payables to customers
239,797.3
10.86 Short positions in securities/commodities
263,219.8 11.93 Securities sold
w/repurchase agreements 933,214.3
42.28 Other nonsubordinated liabilities
170,715.5 7.73 Subordinated
liabilities
55,501.5 2.52 Total liabilities
2,111,191.2
95.65 Capital Equity capital
96,049.8
4.35 Number of firms
7,785
13Regulation
- The primary regulator of the securities industry
is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
established in 1934 - SEC sets rules governing securities firms
underwriting and trading activities - The Securities Investor Protection Corporation
(SIPC) protects investors against losses of up to
500,000 on securities firm failures