boutique investment & finance definition

A small, specialized brokerage or financial firm that offers a limited number of services and products. Typically, boutiques are started by people who leave large Wall Street firms, either because of a desire to create their own company or as a result of losing their job through a downsizing or firing. A boutique typically employs anywhere from a few people to several hundred people, compared with a global financial company that employs several hundred thousand people.