Exchanges and brokers
An exchange is the market where shares change hands. A broker is the firm that takes your order there.
Europe’s big markets
Euronext runs the exchanges of Amsterdam, Paris, Milan and several more cities. Deutsche Börse runs Xetra in Frankfurt. The same share or fund is often listed on more than one, each with its own ticker.
Two prices, not one
At any moment there is a price buyers offer (the bid) and a price sellers ask (the ask). If the bid is €99.90 and the ask €100.10, buying and selling at once loses €0.20 a share. That gap is the spread.
Market or limit
A market order buys now at whatever the ask is. A limit order names the most you will pay and waits. A limit protects you on a quiet market or in the first minutes of the day, when spreads are widest.
Settlement
A trade is agreed at once but settled later: the money and the shares change hands two working days after the trade in the EU. The EU plans to make it one day from 11 October 2027.
Your broker’s job
The broker passes your order on, keeps your shares and cash, and sends you statements. Under EU rules it must seek the best result for your order and tell you every cost before and after.
Key takeaways
- There is always a buy price and a sell price; the gap is a cost.
- A limit order names your price; a market order takes the one on offer.
- The same fund can trade on several exchanges under different tickers.