Vancouver Stock Exchange (VAN) .V

The Vancouver Stock Exchange (VAN) .V - (VSE) is a defunct stock exchange formerly located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was incorporated in 1903 as the third largest marketplace in Canada behind the Toronto Stock Exchange and Montreal Stock Exchange. The exchange originally featured small capitalization, mining, oil and gas exploration stocks. By the early 1990s, however, the Vancouver exchange grew into a specialty market for venture capital securities. Today, the Vancouver Stock Exchange falls under the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) umbrella after a merger with the Canadian Venture Exchange in 1999.

The Vancouver Stock Exchange was recognized as the home for venture capital solutions but many saw through the facade and quickly labeled it the "scam capital of the world." At one point the VSE listed about 2,300 stocks, many of which were considered total failures or frauds. The exchange provides a textbook example of how errors in floating point calculations can lead to enormous discrepancies in the correctness of the index reading. Ultimately, the VSE is an example of one of the world's least successful stock exchanges.

Still, the Vancouver Stock Exchange managed to exist throughout all the turmoil and in 1999, it merged with the Alberta Stock Exchange and Bourse de Montreal to become the Canadian Venture Exchange, now known as the TSX Venture Exchange. The trading floor of the Vancouver exchange remained the center of the new division. But that only lasted for two years. In 2001, TMX Group – the parent company of the Toronto Stock Exchange – purchased the newly formed marketplace and quickly renamed it. Today, the Toronto Venture Exchange is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, with offices in other major cities throughout Canada. All trading is executed electronically so a trading floor no longer exists.

Today, the Toronto Venture Exchange is considered a leader in global benchmarks and venture capital listings despite its previous reputation. The strength of the Toronto Stock Exchange and Venture Exchange now stretches to about $2.3 trillion in market capitalization. The venture division alone offers solutions to 1,791 companies with a total market cap of about $23 billion. Trading on the exchange is as simple as any other major exchange. There are different order types, rules, regulations and services that keep the exchange operating smoothly. Some of those orders include traditional limit and market orders to more unfamiliar dark order types. Companies listed on the exchange are subject to various fees like initial application, registration and monthly costs.