You can also buy bonds when they are issued by corporations, local governments, and government agencies. Using a system known as Treasury Direct, you can buy new Treasury bills, notes, and bonds directly from the Bureau of the Public Debt. The mutual fund market isn't a single place, and neither is the real estate market , but active buying and selling goes on constantly in those investments. One major way they differ from the stock and bond markets is that it's possible for you to buy and sell on your own. Here are some terms to help you build an investment vocabulary.
Securities refer to investments like stocks and bonds.
The term originally described the pieces of paper, like stock certificates, that represented ownership. Publicly held describes a company whose stock is owned by outside investors. A private company goes public by issuing stock to such investors. Secondary market refers to securities that are bought and sold following their original issue. A stock exchange is a secondary market.