Evening star., 1953-03-16
Ho,O to Buy and Sell Securities

There's nothing complicated about buy
ing or selling stocks. It's as easy as making
a phone call. AS matter of fact, that's the
way most of our customers handle their
business with us-by phone.
Let's assume that you've already opened
an account with us. Qn the main, that's
no more complicated than opening any
charge account.) AS a customer, you will
deal regularly with one of our account
executives, always the same one. Let's say
your account executives name is Ross;
he's the man who handles all your busi-
ness, and he is registered with the New
York Stock Exchange. That means he has
qualified as a man of good character and
has passed an examination on the opera
ton of the securities business.
HO,v Do You Get a Quotation?
Now let's suppose you want to buy 100
shares of Typical Manufacturing Co. You
could drop by the Office and place your
order in person-which you might well
do if you wanted to talk with Ross and
get information from him about Typical.
Or you could write Ross and place your
order by mail. Or-most likely-you could
phone. Once you get Ross on the line,
your first question is likely to be, Whats
Typical selling at now?"
Ross might be able to answer that by
a quick look at the quote board in the
front of the office. The quote board shows
the latest prices for many of the most
popular stocks. In some of our Offices,
where Teleregister service is available, the
board is electrically operated, and every
price change is automatically recorded for
each of 200 or so different stocks. The
open, high, and low prices for the day
and the closing price for the preceding
day are also shown. In the rest of our
Offices, the prices are chalked up on the
quote board as they come through on the
ticker tape. an .
On the quote boards, the ticker tape,
and the Translux' (where the tape is pro-
jected on a movie screen) all stocks are
referred to by initials or combinations of
letters, such as c for Chrysler Corp,
CP for Canadian Pacific, and CGW for
Chicago Great Western.
If Typical Manufacturing isn't shown
on the quote board, Ross will offer to
get the price for you and phone you back.
He can do this easily, because Merrill
Lynch has g., 900 miles of private tele-
type and telephone wires connecting
direct to our New York headquarters.
HO,U Do You Place an Order?
In few minutes Ross calls to say that
Typical is quoted at Is bid, 25A asked.
By that he means that $25 a share is the
highest price that anyone is then willing
to pay and that $25.25 is the lowest price
at which anyone is willing to sell Typical.
Shall place your order at the market?"
he asks. A market order is one for imme-
diate execution at the best price that pre-
walls when the order reaches the floor of
the Exchange, regardless of how the price
may have changed-up or down fraction
of point, sometimes moreAbetween the
time you place the order and the time it
can be filled.
Market orders are by all odds the most
common, but you may also place limit
order, instructing us to buy Typical only
if it is available at 24h within any period
of time you specify. If 100 shares of Typi-
cal are offered at 24h within that time,
we will execute your limit order for you,
provided the supply of stock at that price
isn't exhausted by other orders that may
have been placed ahead of yours. Limit
orders can also be used in selling stocks.
Sometimes they mean lost opportunity,
because decisions to buy or sell stock
that turn simply on the hope of getting
a fractionally better price are often ILL
advised for investors.
HO,U Are Orders Executed?
Suppose you give Ross a market order
for 100 shares of Typical. That order is
Immediately transmitted to our New York
headquarters and phoned direct to a
Merrill Lynch booth on the floor of the
Exchange. There one of our floor brokers
goes to the trading post at which Typical
IS bought or Sold. There are 18 such posts
on the floor of the Exchange, and at each
ofthem approximately 80 srocksare traded
At the trading post, our broker asks
for the prevailing market price. Brokers
with orders to buy or sell Typical Manu-
featuring make their bids or offers in an
audible voice. Secret transactions are moi
permitted.
Our floor broker will not reveal whether
Copies OF this advertisement In pam
No charge, no obligation. J
MERRILL LYNCH, PIE
UalWWntsy5 1a1 DiJsnb
By0ksy in 4Sscssi
BIS fifteenth Street, NV.
WASHINGTON S
Telephone: Executive 3-2121