A stock exchange , equity market or share market is that the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include securities listed on a public stock market , also as stock that's only traded privately, like shares of personal companies which are sold to investors through equity crowdfunding platforms. Investment within the stock exchange is most frequently done via stockbrokerages and electronic trading platforms. Investment is typically made with an investment strategy in mind. Stocks are often categorized by the country where the corporate is domiciled. for instance , Nestlé and Novartis are domiciled in Switzerland and traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange, in order that they could also be considered as a part of Swiss stock exchange , although the stocks can also be traded on exchanges in other countries, for instance , as American depositary receipts (ADRs) on U.S. stock markets.