Can Irish Stockbrokers sell my shares to third parties or must they sell them in the marketplace.

I have been purchasing/selling shares with an Irish Stockbroker for some time now. Execution only. I usually place a limit order to buy or sell. I notice I always get the price I ask for but never a better price, even if when my shares are trading fast in the market place.

I also check to see my trade going through on The London Stock Exchange. I have noticed that many of my trades are not displayed.

Are stockbrokers in Ireland permitted to do side trades with market makers or other individuals that are not officially shown in the market place?

I noticed one trade last week where I put a limit sell order on a particular share. The share price continued upwards during the online process and by the time I pressed the "sell" button the share had moved a bit.......but I never got the benefit of the better price, just the price I asked for. Also, the trade never showed on the London Stock Exchange or any of the other websites where you can see share trades.

Sometimes when I get my contract note it shows that the shares were sold at a particular time......but no such trade or combination of trades exists in the public domain.

What do the terms and conditions of your contract with the broker say?

jpd said:

What do the terms and conditions of your contract with the broker say?

Click to expand...

Just checking back through my contract notes and a lot of my trades are "off book". This suggests to me that a side deal is being done at the price I want but not necessarily the best price at the point of purchase or sale.

This has some detail.
If there was a bid for the stock on a venue in a size greater than or equal to the size you had specified above your limit price when you submitted the order I believe you should get that price (see 1 in the attachment). If you were trying to sell far more stock than there was a bid for then the bookie probably has a case for trading off venue. See under 5. on the link for more detail.

BTW provided you can get comfortable with the custody arrangements dealing with online only brokers for execution may make more sense. In many cases you will be able to see the order book (or at least the order book for the primary venue) although not perhaps for Irish stocks. Also it is likely the costs will be a fraction of what you are currently being charged.