Most brokers will deal on a one-off, execution-only basis for much smaller amounts.

Inevitably, tenants and brokers who are loyal to the first generation will be dealing with the second.

They say that, while brokers have dealt with a vast array of owners, owners only know their own ways of doing things.

Under the current quote-driven system, brokers and institutional investors deal through market makers who try to profit from the spread between buy and sell prices.

When one broker is dealing with one executive in a company that's planning a move, three or four other executives may be working with other brokers.

The loosely knit, over-the-counter market is largely conducted by dealers and brokers dealing over the telephone, in the absence of a computerized registry.

The brokers deal directly with clients, usually by phone and fax, coaxing out details on preferences.

The examinations were intended to learn more about how brokers deal with hedge fund clients, said a commission official who asked not to be identified by name.

In another contrast, brokers deal in commercial insurance and agents sell policies to individuals for things like cars and homes.

Mortgage companies seek out business through the brokers, and brokers deal only with such companies, not with banks.