In the early 2000s, many stock brokers started leaving their Wall Street day jobs in favor of becoming independent licensed financial advisors. By 2004, independent stock brokers held 47.5 percent of the market share of high-net-worth households. Many of your high-income clients come to you for financial consultation over the large firms because independent brokers are more likely to put their clients' interests first, not the brokerage's interests.

But whenever you offer professional advice - and particularly when you are dealing with other people's money - you open yourself up to a slew of liability risks. An effective business protection plan is a must for independent brokers - but where do you start? Below is a list of the most commonly purchased policies among independent stock brokers.

The important thing to remember is that each of these policies can be adjusted to create a business protection plan that fits your independent brokerage and no one else's. Read on to learn more about these individual policies and how they can protect your stock broker business.