Capital Market Investments
These markets are divided into two different categories: primary markets—where new equity stock and bond issues are sold to investors—and secondary markets, which trade existing securities. Capital markets are a crucial part of a functioning modern economy because they move money from the people who have it to those who need it for productive use.
Primary vs. Secondary Markets
Primary Market
When a company publicly sells new stocks or bonds for the first time—such as in an initial public offering (IPO)—it does so in the primary capital market. This market is sometimes called the new issues market. When investors purchase securities on the primary capital market, the company that offers the securities hires an underwriting firm to review it and create a prospectus outlining the price and other details of the securities to be issued.
All issues on the primary market are subject to strict regulation. Companies must file statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other securities agencies and must wait until their filings are approved before they can go public.
Small investors are often unable to buy securities on the primary market because the company and its investment bankers want to sell all of the available securities in a short period of time to meet the required volume, and they must focus on marketing the sale to large investors who can buy more securities at once. Marketing the sale to investors can often include a roadshow or dog and pony show, in which investment bankers and the company's leadership travel to meet with potential investors and convince them of the value of the security being issued.
Secondary Market
The secondary market, on the other hand, includes venues overseen by a regulatory body like the SEC where these previously issued securities are traded between investors. Issuing companies do not have a part in the secondary market. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq are examples of secondary markets.
The secondary market has two different categories: the auction and the dealer markets. The auction market is home to the open outcry system where buyers and sellers congregate in one location and announce the prices at which they are willing to buy and sell their securities. The NYSE is one such example. In dealer markets, though, people trade through electronic networks. Most small investors trade through dealer markets.