All Stock Exchanges Are Not
Created Equal

NASDAQ-AMEX

The NASDAQ-AMEX, as the name suggests, is the combination of the NASDAQ Market and AMEX Exchange, two formerly independent exchanges that merged recently. NASDAQ (pronounced "naz-dak") is an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations system. AMEX is an acronym for American Stock Exchange. In 1995, the AMEX became the first U.S. stock market to establish a presence on the Internet. The Website offers comprehensive data on the companies listed on the exchange and the options, derivatives, and capital markets products. Today, the NASDAQ side of the partnership employs electronic communication networks (ECNs), which allow investors worldwide to trade anonymously. The AMEX continues as a traditional floor-based exchange.

The NASDAQ has two tiers or levels of companies - the National Market and the Smallcap Market. The National Market has higher costs for annual listing and maintenance, which range up to $50,000 per year, while the Smallcap Market's minimum annual fee is only about $4,000. In the Smallcap Market listing, the initial minimum price per share is $4 compared with the National Market minimum of $5. The requirements for the company's minimum assets also are different. Companies listed in the Smallcap must have a net income of at least $750,000 in two of the past three years. Companies listed in the National Market must have initial net tangible assets of at least $6 million.