Buy-side is a term used in investment banking

Investment banking

An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...

 to refer to advising institutions concerned with buying, rather than selling, assets or securities

Security (finance)

A security is generally a fungible, negotiable financial instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into:* debt securities ,* equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and,...

. Private equity

Private equity

Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

 funds, mutual funds, unit trusts, hedge funds, pension fund

Pension fund

A pension fund is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.Pension funds are important shareholders of listed and private companies. They are especially important to the stock market where large institutional investors dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold...

s, and proprietary trading

Proprietary trading

Proprietary trading occurs when a firm trades stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, their derivatives, or other financial instruments, with the firm's own money as opposed to its customers' money, so as to make a profit for itself...

 desks are the most common types of buy side entities.

In sales & trading, the split between the buy side and sell side

Sell side

Sell side is a term used in the financial services industry. It is a general term that indicates a firm that sells investment services to asset management firms, typically referred to as the buy side, or corporate entities...

 should be viewed from the perspective of securities exchange services. The investing community must use those services to trade securities. The "Buy Side" are the buyers of those services; the "Sell Side", also called "prime brokers", are the sellers of those services.

Sell side

Sell side

Sell side is a term used in the financial services industry. It is a general term that indicates a firm that sells investment services to asset management firms, typically referred to as the buy side, or corporate entities...

 brokerages are registered members of a stock exchange, and required to be market makers in a given security. Buy side firms usually take speculative positions or make relative value

Relative value

Relative value is the attractiveness measured in terms of risk, liquidity, and return of one instrument relative to another, or for a given instrument, of one maturity relative to another...

 trades. Buy side firms participate in a smaller number of overall transactions, and aim to profit from market movements and accrual

Accrual

Accrual of something is, in finance, the adding together of interest or different investments over a period of time. It holds specific meanings in accounting, where it can refer to accounts on a balance sheet that represent liabilities and non-cash-based assets used in accrual-based accounting...

s rather than through risk management

Risk management

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...

 and the bid-offer spread

Bid-offer spread

The bid–offer spread for securities is the difference between the prices quoted for an immediate sale and an immediate purchase...

. The 2010 Thomson Reuters Extel/UKSIF Survey shows that buyside firms are placing more emphasis on sustainability issues in the research &
advisory services they receive from brokers. Nearly 90% of buyside firms are planning to increase SRI & sustainability asset allocation in 2011.