Hard Dollars

What are Hard Dollars?

The broker charges a specific amount to the customer or investor when providing them with the brokerage services. The fee they charge to investors in return for the customer service is known as hard dollars meaning. Usually, the amount customers are supposed to pay to the brokers is decided before signing the deal.

The fee includes the trading charges, account maintenance fee, and the fee charged for research. The investor has to pay the set amount to the brokerage firm every month.

An overview of Hard Dollars

Investors need to conduct Market research before buying the shares of a company. Nobody purchases share worth thousands of dollars from a random company. The investors request the brokerage firm to conduct research on the company and analyze the current market condition so that they can decide if they should invest in the company. Now, the investor is supposed to pay the brokerage firm for providing valuable information. This payment is known as hard dollars.

Let’s understand this concept with an example:

Suppose you want to hire a brokerage firm to conduct research on the stock market. You ask the broker to research the company and send valuable insights to you. Now, most of the investors make the payment for this research by signing a trading deal with the broker. This way the brokers generate the commission dollar. However, not all investors are willing to trade with the brokerage firm. If that happens, you are going need to make the payment to the brokerage company for research.

Some investors opt for a soft dollar deal with the brokerage firm. In that case, the broker can contact another brokerage firm for the research. Of course, they will get the commission funds from the investors. However, they can pay a small percentage of this commission to the other broker for research.

This means the investor can ask the broker to pay another brokerage firm for research. Now, this transaction is known as the soft dollar payment. Hard dollar payment can be referred to as the actual payment since the investor is supposed to pay the brokerage firm in cash. Soft dollar payment, on the other hand, is paid out of commission. This payment is generated from trading revenues.

When does the Investor Pay Hard Dollars?

Investment plan differ from investor to investor. Some people develop Financial plan themselves, while others rely fully on the financial advisers and brokers. The job of these brokers is to develop financial and investment plans for the investors, conduct market research, and perform trend analysis. Brokerage firms offer multiple solutions and financial advice to the investor and charge a specific amount in return for these services.

The investors have to pay a commission to the broker as well as a separate fee, which is charged for the extra services. Now, the fee charged for the investment advice, research, and the services that aren’t directly related to trading are the hard dollar. It doesn’t include the commission or revenue payment.