NYSE American facts for kids

NYSE American is a stock exchange located in New York City. It was once known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and later as NYSE MKT. For many years, AMEX was owned by its members. Before 1953, it was called the New York Curb Exchange.

On October 1, 2008, NYSE Euronext bought AMEX. AMEX then joined with a European exchange for smaller companies called Alternext. Its name changed to NYSE Alternext U.S. In March 2009, it became NYSE Amex Equities. Then, on May 10, 2012, its name changed again to NYSE MKT LLC.

In 2016, another stock exchange called IEX got approval from the SEC. After this, NYSE MKT changed its name to NYSE American. It also added a small delay to trading, like IEX, which is called a "speed bump."

History of NYSE American

The Outdoor Market: The Curb

The NYSE American started as a group of brokers trading on the streets of Manhattan. These brokers were called "curbstone brokers." They traded on Broad Street. Early in the 1900s, people like Emanuel S. Mendels and Carl H. Pforzheimer began to organize this market.

By 1907, the brokers had moved to the sidewalk outside the Blair Building. The police even fenced off a small area for them on Broad Street. Trading happened every day except Sundays, from 10 AM until a bell rang at 3 PM. Brokers in nearby offices would shout orders down to the street. The curbstone brokers would then shout back when a trade was done.

Getting Organized: The Curb List

At first, the curb brokers didn't want to get too organized. They worried that if they formed a proper exchange, they might have to give up other memberships. However, in 1908, the New York Curb Market Agency was created. This agency set up trading rules for the brokers.

In 1910, the informal Curb Association formed to remove dishonest traders. The curb exchange was often different from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), also known as the "Big Board." The NYSE saw the curb as a place for "cats and dogs," meaning less important stocks. But in 1910, the NYSE stopped listing some stocks. The curb brokers on Broad Street would not trade these stocks until they met the "Curb list" of requirements. In 1911, Mendels and his team created a formal set of rules. This led to the New York Curb Market Association, which was the first official organization of the American Stock Exchange.

Moving Indoors: A New Building

The American Stock Exchange Building, which opened in 1921.

In 1920, a journalist described the outdoor curb exchange as a "roaring, swirling whirlpool." It was a very lively place. A group of curb brokers decided to build a proper indoor trading space. The new building was designed by Starrett & Van Vleck. It opened in 1921 on Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan. On June 27, 1921, the curbstone brokers moved their trading indoors.

In 1929, the New York Curb Market changed its name to the New York Curb Exchange. It quickly became a major international stock market. It had more foreign stocks listed than all other American markets combined. Edward Reid McCormick was the first president of the New York Curb Market Association. He is known for moving the market indoors.

Becoming the American Stock Exchange

In 1953, the Curb Exchange was renamed the American Stock Exchange. In 1961, the exchange faced a scandal. To fix its reputation, it started to reorganize in 1962. Edwin Etherington became president in 1962. He and Paul Kolton worked to improve the exchange.

By 1971, it was the second largest stock exchange in the United States. Paul Kolton became president in 1971. He was the first person chosen from inside the exchange to lead it. In 1972, Kolton became the exchange's first chief executive officer. As chairman, he helped start options trading. Kolton believed that having two separate exchanges, AMEX and NYSE, was better than one big one.

In 1977, Thomas Peterffy bought a trading spot on the American Stock Exchange. In the early 1980s, he surprised other traders by bringing handheld computers onto the trading floor.

Introducing ETFs: A New Way to Invest

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) started in 1989. These were like baskets of stocks that could be traded like single stocks. The first one was called Index Participation Shares. It tracked the S&P 500 index. However, a lawsuit stopped its sales in the United States.

In 1990, a similar product started trading in Canada. Its popularity led the American Stock Exchange to try again. They wanted to create something that followed U.S. rules.

Nathan Most and Steven Bloom, guided by Ivers Riley, created Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts (SPDRs). These were introduced in January 1993. Known as "Spiders," this fund became the largest ETF in the world. In 1995, MidCap SPDRs were introduced.

Other companies also created ETFs. In 1996, World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS) were launched. These allowed regular investors to easily access foreign markets. In 1998, "Sector Spiders" were introduced. These were ETFs for different parts of the S&P 500 Index. Also in 1998, the "Dow Diamonds" were launched, tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In 1999, the "cubes" were created to track the NASDAQ-100.

The iShares line of ETFs started in 2000. By 2005, they managed 44% of all ETF money.

Merging with NYSE

By 2003, AMEX was the only U.S. stock market that still allowed traders to use hand signals to buy and sell.

In October 2008, NYSE Euronext finished buying AMEX for $260 million. NYSE Euronext announced that AMEX would join with its European small-company exchange, Alternext. It was renamed NYSE Alternext U.S. The American Stock Exchange officially merged with the New York Stock Exchange on October 1, 2008.

After the merger, the AMEX stock business was called "NYSE Alternext US." Later, it was rebranded as NYSE Amex Equities. On December 1, 2008, the old Curb Exchange building at 86 Trinity Place closed. The AMEX trading floor moved to the NYSE Trading floor at 11 Wall Street. The old building, which opened in 1921, became empty but still stands. In March 2009, NYSE Alternext U.S. became NYSE Amex Equities. Then, on May 10, 2012, it changed its name to NYSE MKT LLC.

In June 2016, a competing exchange called IEX was approved by the SEC. IEX used a small delay in trading. Despite protests from NYSE and other exchanges, IEX was approved. On July 24, 2017, the NYSE renamed NYSE MKT to NYSE American. It also announced plans to add its own 350-microsecond "speed bump" for trading on its small and mid-sized company exchange.

What NYSE American Trades

NYSE American trades many different types of financial products, including:

• Stocks: Shares of ownership in companies.
• Options: Contracts that give you the right to buy or sell a stock at a certain price.
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Baskets of investments that trade like stocks.
• Structured Products: Complex financial tools.
• Warrants: Similar to options, giving the right to buy shares.

Leaders of the Exchange

Many people have led the American Stock Exchange over the years. Here are some of the past presidents and chairmen:

• John L. McCormack (1911–1914)
• Edward R. McCormick (1914–1923)
• John W. Curtis (1923–1925)
• David U. Page (1925–1928)
• William S. Muller (1928–1932)
• Howard C. Sykes (1932–1934)
• E. Burd Grubb (1934–1935)
• Fred C. Moffatt (1935–1939; 1942–1945)
• George P. Rea (1939–1942)
• Edwin Posner (1945–1947; January–September, 1962)
• Edward C. Werle (February–March, 1947)
• Francis Adams Truslow (1947–1951)
• Edward T. McCormick (1951–1961)
• Joseph F. Reilly (1961–1962)
• Edwin D. Etherington (1962–1966)
• Ralph S. Saul (1966–1971)
• Paul Kolton (1971–1973)
• Richard M. Burdge (1973–1977)
• Robert J. Birnbaum (1977–1986)
• Kenneth R. Leibler (1986–1990)

Past chairmen of the American Stock Exchange include:

• Clarence A. Bettman (1939–1941)
• Fred C. Moffatt (1941–1945)
• Edwin Posner (1945–1947; 1962–1965)
• Edward C. Werle (1947–1950)
• Mortimer Landsberg (1950–1951)
• John J. Mann (1951–1956)
• James R. Dyer (1956–1960)
• Joseph E. Reilly (1960–1962)
• David S. Jackson (1965–1968)
• Macrae Sykes (1968–1969)
• Frank C. Graham Jr. (1969–1973)
• Paul Kolton (1973–1978)
• Arthur Levitt Jr. (1978–1989)
• James R. Jones (1989–1993)
• Salvatore F. Sodano (1999–2005)

Images for kids

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  This plaque shows where the curbstone brokers moved indoors in 1921.

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  In 2004, Vice Admiral Gary Roughead rang the opening bell at the American Stock Exchange.

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  The Old American Stock Exchange Building in 2009.

See also

In Spanish: American Stock Exchange para niños

• NYSE Arca Major Market Index
• Microcap stock
• Economy of New York City
• List of stock exchanges in the Americas
• List of stock exchange mergers in the Americas
• Consolidated Tape System
• Hal S. Scott
• Michael J. Meehan