In the previous chapter, we established that the US market is the world’s largest, most liquid, and most consequential equity market.

But a large market does not just happen on its own.

It runs on infrastructure. Exchanges, rules, institutions, and participants that together determine how a trade gets placed, how it gets matched, how money and shares actually change hands, and who is making sure none of it goes wrong.

Understanding this structure matters for one simple reason. When you invest in the US market from India, you are not just picking stocks. You are relying on a system. And knowing how that system works will help you understand why it is as reliable as it is.