Securities Market Structure and Participants
This domain tests whether you can map a transaction onto the right venue and the right intermediary. Expect questions on which market lists a given instrument, what each type of firm is legally allowed to do, and how a retail investor reaches the market.
Venues
Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) operates tiered boards for established issuers. Iran Fara Bourse (IFB) hosts smaller and younger issuers, a base market, many sukuk and Islamic treasury bill listings, and a large share of fund units. Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) and Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) list commodity and commodity-linked instruments rather than equities. The Central Securities Depository of Iran (CSDI) holds the securities themselves.
Intermediaries and their permissions
A broker (کارگزار) acts as agent for clients. Trading for its own account requires a broker/dealer (کارگزار/معاملهگر) permission. A market maker (بازارگردان) accepts a contractual duty to quote two-sided prices within a maximum spread and minimum size. Around them sit investment advisors (مشاور سرمایهگذاری), fund managers (سبدگردان), custodians (امانتدار), underwriters (تعهد پذیرهنویس), licensed credit rating agencies and auditors.
Access to the market
Retail investors cannot enter the exchange directly. They open an account through a broker, obtain a securities code (کد بورسی) after identification in the SEJAM system, and the broker, as an exchange member and CSDI participant, executes and settles.
Worked example
A small manufacturing company with two years of audited accounts wants to raise equity. Reasoning: it is too small for the TSE main board, so the base market of the IFB is the realistic route; it needs an SEO-approved prospectus, an audit and a listing decision from the IFB, after which it falls under IFB disclosure rules.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming IFB means unregulated OTC; confusing the IME with a securities exchange; assuming every broker may trade proprietary positions; believing the broker holds client securities instead of CSDI.