Strictly speaking, the broker lives on these commissions, though, of course, his intimate knowledge of the market affords him special facilities for speculating and investing on his own account. He must not, however, it may be repeated, deal with his own clients; directly he buys or sells for himself he becomes a principal, and is not in that connection a broker at all. Moreover, he must not arrange with the jobber to whom he takes the business for part of the profit which the jobber makes. In the eye of the Stock Exchange, such collusion between broker and jobber would be regarded as dishonesty of the grossest nature, and would probably result in the instant expulsion of both the parties concerned. As a matter of fact, however, the broker frequently divides the commissions with an outside runner or with a member of his staff who introduces the business, although he is strictly forbidden to enter into partnership with one who is not a member of the Stock Exchange.
An adventitious source of income which the broker enjoys arises from the formation of new companies and the flotation of loans, especially large loans issued by the Government and municipal bodies. The broker is called upon to circulate the prospectuses amongst his clients; he stamps his name upon each application form, and the issuing house pays him a commission upon all allotments made to his clients. He may even underwrite loans or share issues--that is, undertake to subscribe for a certain amount, should the public refuse to come in. This he does in return for a commission, or some other consideration, which is paid whether he is called upon to take up his proportion of the issue or not. It is to the interest of the loan issuers and the company promoters to make sure, in this way, that their capital shall be all taken up. Some promoters boast in their prospectuses that the issue they are making has not been underwritten, implying, of course, that the issue is so attractive that they are sure the public will take it up. But in these cases the truth sometimes is that the issue is not underwritten simply because nobody can be induced to underwrite it.
Although the broker may, by the circulation of prospectuses, give a gentle hint to his clients that there is business afoot; although, indeed, he may, and in many cases does, send them circulars, and price lists, and newspapers every night; it is only amongst his own clients that he is allowed to advertise in this or any other way. He usually keeps this rule most rigidly, in the spirit as well as in the letter, and he is aided in so doing by the watchfulness of the Committee. For this reason, some members of the Stock Exchange--for the rule against advertising applies to the jobber as well as to the broker, although the jobber has naturally less temptation to advertise--show much repugnance even to their names appearing in the newspapers in any connection whatever, though it may be quite apart from business, and some are even chary of announcing a mere change of partnership, or a removal of offices, lest it might be construed as an advertisement.