what is the difference between a trader and a dealer 
a dealer is a specialized type of trader who commits to continuously make two sided markets in the securities that they deal in this means that they will always be posting both a bid and an offer the goal is to trade frequently enough with both buyers and sellers in the market to generate profit from the bid ask spread traders on the other hand need not make two sided markets and can buy or sell as they please in this respect non dealer traders are considered to be price takers instead of market makers traders do not profit from the bid ask spread but instead hope for the market to move in their favor in order to exit the trade at a favorable price later on 