Those who make a business of buying and selling securities upon their own accounts. They must not be confused with bankers who sell to regular clients, or with brokers who execute orders on a commission for others.

There are several classes of "traders" so-called; first, those who are not stock exchange members; second, professional traders, who differ from the first named only in owning stock exchange seats, who also have their orders executed by some other stock exchange member, and to whom they pay a very much reduced commission, in accordance with the stock exchange rules, but do not go upon the floor of the stock exchange to execute their own orders, although they would be privileged so to do, in which latter event they would become, third, room traders; i. e. those upon the floor of the stock exchange, who buy and sell securities for their own account. Such, of course, must be members of the stock exchange.

One writer very well says:

"Trading in stocks can ordinarily be divided into professional and public dealings. There is a great difference between the two. Professional trading includes manipulation and the operations of those who make trading in stocks a considerable part of their daily business. Trading by the public covers investment business and a form of dealing which is partly speculative and partly investment. The professional operator trades all the time. Public trading is variable and very uncertain/'