Principal Orders
A type of order carried out by a broker-dealer which involves the broker-dealer buying or selling for its own account and at its own risk, as opposed to carrying out trades for the brokerage's clients.
Investopedia Commentary
When a broker-dealer is acting on its own behalf, as opposed to brokering transactions for its clients, it must properly denote to the exchange that it is doing so. These kinds of transactions are also known as "principal trades".
Related Links
Understanding Order Execution
The Nitty-Gritty Of Executing A Trade
Brokers and Online Trading
Getting to Know Stock Exchanges
See also: Agent, Broker-Dealer, Exchange, Execution, Front Running, Order, Principal
Also spelled: principal trades, principal trade, principal order