This paper addresses the overlap between market seg- mentation and competitive strategy for an institutional service. Two multidimensional scaling approaches-ALSCAL and "Pick-Anyw- are used to represent the process whereby brokerage firms and finan- cial institutions select one anoll~er. Strategic groupings of brokcrage firms are obtained and described in behavioral terms; similarly, we obtain "revealed" segments of financial institutions with similar brokerage needs. Profiles of the "ideal" firm to service each seg- ment are developed. Bascd upon this analysis, optimal buying and selling protocols for institutions and firms respectively are sug- gested. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results and their implications for furlher research in this area.