Miami Stock Exchange (MS4X)

What Is the Miami Stock Exchange (MS4X)?

The Miami Stock Exchange (MS4X) is a regional exchange that offers stock, currency, and futures trading from its location of Miami, Florida. The MS4X is a hub of trading services for the G27, which refers to the 27 Latin American and Caribbean Exchanges. The Miami Stock Exchange offers a full range of electronic trading, processing, and distribution services to the international financial community.

How the Miami Stock Exchange (MS4X) Works

The Miami Stock Exchange is a major trading center for Latin American and Caribbean countries. The MS4X is considered a regional stock exchange, which in the United States means any stock exchange outside of New York City.

The following countries and their exchanges transact with the Miami Stock Exchange:

• Argentina
• Barbados
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Dominica Republic
• Mexico
• Panama
• Peru

The Miami Stock Exchange provides electronic trading software and services for stocks and futures contracts, which are derivatives that obtain their value from the underlying security being traded.

The MS4X is also an exchange for currencies, meaning trades that involve exchanging one currency for another, such as the Mexican peso versus the U.S. dollar. Although the MS4X is not an active trading floor with a trading pit containing dealers and traders, it still has traders who fill orders for investors.

Some of the banks within the financial community that the MS4X services include HSBC, Scotiabank, JPMorgan Chase & Company, and the State Bank of India. Brokers that do business with the MS4X include Fidelity Investments, E*Trade, and Prudential Financial Inc.

The Miami Stock Exchange vs. Other Exchanges

The Miami Stock Exchange functions as a regional stock exchange. A regional stock exchange is any stock exchange that trades publicly held equity outside of a country’s primary financial center. In the United States, that means that any stock exchange outside of New York City functions as a regional exchange.

MS4X vs. Major Exchanges

New York City serves as the financial capital of the United States and is home to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, and the American Stock Exchange. Of the multiple stock exchanges that call New York City home, the New York Stock Exchange is the primary exchange being the largest equities-based exchange in the world.

In contrast, the Miami Stock Exchange, as a regional exchange, trades in over-the-counter securities, securities from the South and Central American markets, and localized companies that are too small to register on a national exchange. The OTC market is a system of brokers and dealers that execute buy and sell orders of securities for investors.

MS4X vs. Regional Exchanges

Along with the Miami Stock Exchange, there are various other regional stock exchanges throughout the United States, including the Chicago Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, the latter located in Jersey City. Like their national counterparts, regional exchanges are still subject to regulations and oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC, which was founded in 1934 in response to the stock market crash of 1929, oversees the financial markets to ensure that the markets and companies function in a fair, orderly manner.