Souza Barros. Bovap

A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors. A broker may be employed by a brokerage firm. A transaction on a stock exchange must be made between two members of the exchange—an ordinary person may not walk into the Brazil Stock Exchange (for example), and ask to trade stock. Such an exchange must be done through a broker.

There are three types of stockbroking service.

• Execution-only, which means that the broker will only carry out the client's instructions to buy or sell.

• Advisory dealing, where the broker advises the client on which shares to buy and sell, but leaves the final decision to the investor.

• Discretionary dealing, where the stockbroker ascertains the client's investment objectives and then makes all dealing decisions on the client's behalf.

A brokerage firm, or simply brokerage or broker in context, is a financial institution that acts as a stock broker. Brokerage firms serve a clientele of investors who trade public stocks and other securities.

BOVAP = Bolsa de Valores Políticos was an online tool launched on March 9, 2010, and created by Brazilian brokerage firm Souza Barros in order to increase public discussion and political awareness leading up to Brazil’s 2010 election. The concept is based on the financial market, but instead of buying and selling shares of a company, users bought and sold stock of politicians’ public images using a fictitious currency. All transactions and opinions would then impact each politician’s worth. Candidates for President and Governors of State were featured. Not only did this site teach users how the financial market works, but it promoted activism and increased public discussion of politics.

What makes BOVAP so revolutionary and worthy of its SXSW Interactive Award nomination is its contribution to what is often called ‘Democracy 2.0′ — the role the web plays in democracy and our ability to participate in it. The more tools we are given for social interaction on the web, the more the conversation changes and evolves. In this case, in addition to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts, BOVAP created a site that allowed users to participate, engage in the conversation, and learn about politics and the financial market in a way that was fun and fascinating.

The BOVAP website is still accessible, and while much of it is in Spanish, you can still get an idea of the experience. Though the elections in Brazil are now over, one can only hope that this project and the ideas behind it continue to grow and expand.

BOVAP - Concept Boards

Series of concept boards for a video release of BOVAP - Political Stock Exchange.

Concept boards created by Eduardo Recife for a animation production that explains a tool created by LiveAd for Souza Barros brokerage, wich enables the pricing of Brazilian politicians based on their performance in the public sphere over time.