Steps in a Typical Securities Trade

1. 1. Investor contacts a broker to buy securities.
2. 2. Broker places the investor’s order either by telephoning a trader or by using an electronic trading network.
3. 3. Order is routed. Possibly to an exchange (NYSE or NASDAQ), a market maker, an Electronic Communications Network, or a registered alternative trading system or other dark pool, which electronically matches buyers and sellers and does not require the use of