as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
system
how do i invest and buy/sell stocks?  what does use a broker mean?
user
some good answers already, but let me add a tl:dr version. brokers work like a special type of bank account where you can deposit or withdraw money. the major difference is that they also give you the ability to buy/sell investments with the money in your account which you can do by either calling them or using their website. important: many investments you will make through a broker(e.g. stocks) are not insured against losing value like the money in your bank account.
assistant