The American Stock Exchange, formerly known as AMEX, has its base in New York City and holds market trades by the name of NYSE MKT LLC. The American Stock Exchange, like all stock exchanges, does not own stocks, but rather provides the market place for sellers and buyers of stocks.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Euronext group acquired the American Stock Exchange in 2008, renaming it to NYSE Alternext U.S. when it integrated it with Alternext European. In 2009 it was renamed once again to NYSE Amex Equities, but only for a few years, as in May of 2012 the institution became known as NYSE MKT LLC. It trades smaller stocks (known as small-cap stocks) – but with a national following – as well as exchange-traded funds, and derivatives. The American Stock Exchange still operates as its own entity, falling under the broader NYSE spectrum. As part of the NYSE Euronext community, it offers smaller companies brand visibility on the stock market and provides issuers the trading, connectivity and routing technologies and services of the NYSE platform. Some of these firms, listed on the American Stock Exchange, work towards meeting the requirements of the larger NYSE community.