A stockbroker, share holder registered representative, trading representative, or more broadly, an investment broker, investment adviser, financial adviser, wealth manager, or investment professional is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and other investments to financial market participants in return for a commission, markup, or fee, which could be based on a flat rate, percentage of assets, or hourly rate. Examples of professional designations held by individuals in this field, which affects the types of investments they are permitted to sell and the services they provide include chartered financial consultants, certified financial planners or chartered financial analysts, chartered strategic wealth professionals, chartered financial planners, Master of Business Administration; the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority provides an online tool designed to help understand professional designations in the United States.

The first recorded buying and selling of shares occurred in Rome in the 2nd century BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, stockbroking did not become a profession until after the Renaissance, when government bonds were traded in Italian city-states such as Genoa and Venice. In 1602, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange became the first official stock market with trading in shares of the Dutch East India Company, the first company to issue stock. In 1698, the London Stock Exchange, opened at a coffeehouse. On May 17, 1792, the New York Stock Exchange opened under a platanus occidentalis in New York City, as 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, agreeing to trade five securities under that buttonwood tree. Investment professionals that offer financial advice in Australia must pass training pursuant to RG146 and hold a licence, overseen by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, they are subject to fiduciary obligations. In Canada, to be licensed as a "registered representative" or an "investment advisor" and thus be qualified to offer investment advice and trade all instruments with the exception of derivatives, an individual employed by an investment firm must have completed the Canadian Securities Course, the Conduct & Practices Handbook, the 90-day Investment Advisor Training Program.

Within 30 months of obtaining designation as a "registered representative", the registrant is further required to meet the post-licensing proficiency requirement to complete the Wealth Management Essentials course. A registered representative is required to complete 30 hours of professional development and 12 hours of compliance training every three year continuing education cycle as set out by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. To trade options and/or futures, a registered representative must pass the Derivatives Fundamentals Course in addition to the Options Licensing Course and/or the Futures Licensing Course, or alternatively, the Derivatives Fundamentals Options Licensing Course for options. In Hong Kong, to become a representative one has to work for a licensed firm and pass 3 exams to prove competency. Passing a fourth exam results in obtaining a'specialist' license. All tests can be taken with the Hong Kong Securities Institute. After passing all tests, approval must be received by the Futures Commission.

Share brokers in India are governed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and brokers must register with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The National Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange offer certification courses; the recognized benchmark designation for investment professionals in Ireland is the QFA designation, awarded to those who pass the Professional Diploma in Financial Advice and agree to comply with the ongoing "continuous professional development" requirements. The qualification, attaching CPD program, meets the "minimum competency requirements" specified by the Financial Regulator, for advising on and selling five categories of retail financial products: Stock shares and other investment instruments Savings and pensions Mortgage loans Consumer credit Life insurance In New Zealand, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority oversees qualifications; the New Zealand Certificate in Financial Services is the minimum level of qualification necessary to offer investment advice.

In Singapore, becoming a trading representative requires passing 4 exams, modules 1A, 5, 6 and 6A, from the Institute of Banking and Finance and applying for the license through MAS and SGX. In South Korea, the Korea Financial Investment Association oversees the licensing of investment professionals. Stockbroking is a regulated profession in the United Kingdom and brokers must achieve a recognised qualification from the Appropriate Qualifications list of the Financial Conduct Authority; the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment is the largest UK professional body for investment professionals. It evolved from the London Stock Exchange, has around 40,000 members in over 100 countries and delivers more than 37,000 exams each year. CFA UK offers qualifications, it represents the interests of around 11,000 investment professionals and is part of the worldwide network of members of the CFA Institute. Qualifications include: the CISI Level 4 Diploma in Investment Advice and the CISI Level 7 Diploma in Wealth Management The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a self-regulatory organization, regulates investment professional

Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City of the D'Aquila crime family, what would become known as the Gambino crime family. Salvatore D'Aquila was born on November 7, 1873 in Palermo, Sicily to Salvatore D'Aquila and his wife Provvidenza Gagliardo. D'Aquila emigrated to the United States in 1906 and became an early captain within the Morello crime family in East Harlem. D'Aquila was arrested in 1906 and in 1909. In 1910, boss of bosses Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello was imprisoned and Salvatore D'Aquila separated from the Morello family. D'Aquila was appointed the new boss of bosses, his crime family operated from East Harlem and the Bronx, where he rivaled the Morellos'. D'Aquila expanded his crime family's power into Brooklyn and southern Manhattan's Lower East Side/Little Italy neighborhoods; the most prominent members of the D'Aquila family were Umberto Valenti, Manfredi Mineo, Giuseppe Traina, Frank Scalise. In 1920, after Giuseppe Morello was released from prison, D'Aquila tried to have him and his closest allies murdered.

In 1925, D'Aquila moved back into the Bronx. On October 10, 1928, D'Aquila was shot dead on Avenue A in Manhattan, aged 54. After his murder, D'Aquila's family was taken over by Manfredi Mineo. Black Hand Citations Sources Critchley, David; the Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891–1931. New York: Routledge. Hunt, Thomas. Wrongly Executed? - The Long-forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution. Whiting, Vermont: Seven Seven Eight. ISBN 978-1-365-52872-9. Warner, Richard. "Early New York Mafia: An Alternative Theory". Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement. Retrieved 28 May 2016. D'Aquila biography on The American Mafia website La Cosa Nostra Database "Salvatore D'Aquila" Salvatore D'Aquila at Find a Grave Struggle for Control – The Gangs of New York, article by Jon Black at GangRule.com

Adnan Kassar is a Lebanese banker and politician, who served at different cabinet posts. Kassar was born into a Sunni family in Beirut in 1930, he received a law degree from St. Joseph University in 1951. In addition to being a businessman, he is a banker dealing finance investments, he has founded and owns various companies concerning trade and travel, industry and chairman of Fransabank Group. Kassar served as the president of the Beirut Chamber of Commerce and Industry for nearly thirty years. In June 1997, he became the president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Agriculture in Lebanon. From 1999 to 2000, he headed the International Chamber of Commerce based in Paris. On 1 January 2001, Richard McCormick, who served as his deputy at the ICC, succeeded Kassar as head of the ICC. In January 2003, Kassar was appointed member of the patrons committee of the Anglo-Arab organisation. In addition and his brother are shareholders of Fransabank, a large Lebanese commercial bank. Kassar is chairman of the bank.

He is chairman of the general union of Arab chambers of commerce and agriculture and of Lebanon’s economic committees. In October 2004, Kassar was appointed minister of economy and trade in the cabinet led by prime minister Omar Karami, replacing Marwan Hamadeh as economy minister, his tenure lasted until the year 2005, when Karami resigned from office due to the pressures exerted by Lebanese people as a protest over the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Kassar was succeeded by Demianos Khattah in the post. Kassar served as the minister of state in the cabinet led by prime minister Saad Hariri from November 2009 to 2011. Kassar was one of the cabinet members appointed by the Lebanese president Michel Suleiman. Kassar has been regarded as a potential prime minister since the beginning of the 2000s. Officier de la Legion d'honneur Officer, National Order of the Cedar Officer, National Order of Merit Knight Commander, Order of Merit Kassar has been given other awards, Commander of the Order of La Pléiade and the prize of the Crans Montana Forum.

Kassar was born to Wafiq Kassar, a prominent diplomat who served as Ambassador of Lebanon in Pakistan and Turkey. Kassar is married Raidaa Nathem AlMisqawi and has a daughter, Roula Kassar