What’s the difference between Primary Market and Secondary Market?

To understand why an IPO works differently from regular stock purchases, it is important to know this distinction:

The Primary Market  is where the IPO takes place. Shares are sold directly by the company, or by a group of banks coordinating the offering, to investors for the first time. The process involves regulatory registration, price setting, and controlled distribution of shares.

The Secondary Market is where existing shares are traded between investors after the IPO. This is where day-to-day buying and selling happens on the stock exchange, and where the price is freely determined by supply and demand. Inter Securities only offers market access to shares trading on the Secondary Market.