The American Stock Exchange ("AMEX"), is also known as "The Curb" because it was an outdoor exchange until 1921. It is the third largest stock exchange in the US. An auction exchange, it lists smaller and younger equity issues and specialized in trading foreign issues, ADR's ("American Depository Receipts") and ADS"s ("American Depository Shares"). AMEX also sponsors trade in options and financial instruments and provides trading revenues for the S&P Midcap 400 and its own emerging companies marketplace. AMEX has only 2.3 percent of the market capitalization; it pursues a strategy of creating new trading markets and offering superior customer service.
For additional information, AMEX
NASD, INC. Washington D.C.
The National Association of Securities Dealers is the association that polices the trading of the over-the-counter ("OTC") stocks. The association has oversight and administrative responsibility over the NASD Automated Quotation ("NASDAQ") stock market system, an automated equities market that operates without a trading floor. It started in 1971 as a trading medium for the OTC market. NASDAQ is the fastest growing stock market in the US, garnering an 80% share of new listings in general. Its growth is attributable, in part, to its computerization. Computerized trading allows national participation without the expense of floor traders; in addition, the brokers of market-making firms often receive higher commissions on NASDAQ trades -- 40% instead of 33% on other exchanges. The NASDAQ system has been under scrutiny recently on matters related to the fairness/ legitimacy of quoted prices.
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, INC. New York, NY
The New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), also known as "The Big Board," is the oldest and largest auction stock exchange in the US, with over 503 member firms and over 2089 listed companies. In the last decade, its dominance has been threatened by NASDAQ. NYSE advocates that its auction system is superior to the NASDAQ because the auction system is more easily overseen and regulated.