Secondary Market

A secondary market is a location where buyers and sellers of various assets or securities can transact with one another. This is often where regular investors exchange financial instruments including stocks, bonds, options, and futures in the traditional finance industry.

The purpose of the secondary market is to give the average investor access to financial instruments that they would not otherwise be able to buy on the primary market because, in traditional financial environments, the primary market is typically only available to “qualified” investors and big institutions. The primary market is for suppliers, where wholesalers make bulk purchases, and the secondary market is similar to a retail establishment like Walmart where anyone can shop.