What are securities market participants?

They are the corporations, governments, people and organisations that issue, buy, sell, regulate, record, facilitate the trading of or store securities. They include brokers, exchanges, regulators, investors and banks.

Where have you heard about securities market participants?

We don't often think about the whole chain required to keep the modern financial markets flowing freely but if you own any shares then you are one of the links!

What you need to know about securities market participants.

Participants can be broadly divided into four main areas:

Transaction parties - this includes governments and companies raising capital, buying and selling investors, brokers and the stock exchanges.

Post-trade - this includes parties that provide a system for performing trades and safekeep the securities and includes custodian banks, transfer agents, central securities depositories and clearing organisations.

Market data consolidators - organisations that provide investors and regulators with information on prices, volumes and other pertinent information, usually in real time.

Regulation and oversight - government and other regulatory bodies that monitor and oversee the markets and participants. In the US, this would include the SEC and CFTC.

Find out more about securities market participants.

There are many players in the securities markets - find out more about the more niche players such as clearing houses, custodian banks and central securities depositories.