The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Also known as the Big Board, the NYSE is the best-known and most prestigious stock exchange. Some 2,800 companies are traded on the NYSE, among them many of the large, blue-chip firms. The trading is managed by specialists, who are required to maintain a "fair and orderly" market in a stock.

The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations System (NASDAQ) also sometimes known as the over-the-counter market, is the world's largest, screen-based electronic stock market, with over 3,200 companies. In contrast to the NYSE, there are no specialists and trading is entirely automated. Traditionally, mostly smaller companies have been traded on the NASDAQ, but the NASDAQ now contains market leaders like Microsoft as well.

The American Stock Exchange (AMEX). Also known as "the Curb," the AMEX is a smaller exchange that lists about 700 companies. The AMEX is known as the exchange that pioneered Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), as described below.