What is an exchange?
An exchange is an open, organised marketplace for commodities, stocks, securities, derivatives and other financial instruments. The terms exchange and market are often used interchangeably, as they both describe an environment in which listed products can be traded.
A key function of an exchange is to provide fair, efficient and orderly trading opportunities by centralising the buying and selling of a particular type of asset. Instead of dealing directly with exchanges, most traders will use a broker.