Secondary market

When investors buy and sell securities through a brokerage account, the transactions occur on what's known as the secondary market.

While the secondary market isn't a place, it includes all of the exchanges, trading rooms, and electronic networks where these transactions take place.

The issuer - company or government - that sold the security initially receives no proceeds from these trades, as it does when the securities are sold for the first time.

A market comprising investors like GNMA, FHLMC and FNMA, who buy large numbers of mortgages from the primary lenders and resell them to other investors.