The beginner investor's guide

What Is the Capital Market

Learn why the capital market exists, how the primary market differs from the secondary market and what role it plays in the economy.

Why the capital market exists

Every economy has two broad groups of participants: those who have spare money they do not need right away, and those who need money to start, expand or modernize a business. A family that saves part of its income each month has surplus resources; a company that wants to build a new factory needs financing. The capital market is where these two groups meet.

Unlike a bank loan, where the bank is the intermediary between depositors and borrowers, on the capital market the investor finances the issuer directly: they buy a part of the company (shares) or lend it money (bonds). In return, the investor also takes on the risks tied to how that issuer performs.

The primary market and the secondary market

The capital market has two "floors", and understanding the difference between them is essential for any beginner.

The two markets depend on each other. Few investors would buy shares at issue if they were not confident they could resell them later. It is precisely the ability to sell on the secondary market that makes the initial investment more attractive.

The role of the capital market in the economy

A well-functioning capital market benefits not only investors and companies but the economy as a whole. Its main functions are:

• Mobilizing savings – it turns money that would otherwise sit idle into productive investment.
• Financing companies and the state – it offers an alternative or a complement to bank lending.
• Liquidity – it lets investors convert securities into cash relatively quickly.
• Transparent price formation – the price results from the supply and demand of many participants.
• Transparency and good governance – issuers whose securities are admitted to trading have reporting obligations, which instills discipline.
• Risk sharing – the risk of a project is spread across many investors rather than concentrated in a single institution.

The capital market and other financial markets

The capital market is part of the wider financial system. Alongside it are the money market, where short-term instruments (usually under one year) are traded, the foreign exchange market, where currencies are exchanged, and the bank credit market. The capital market focuses on medium- and long-term financing.

In the Republic of Moldova, the capital market is regulated and supervised by the National Commission for Financial Markets (CNPF), and the Moldova International Stock Exchange (BIMx) is one of the infrastructures through which trading is organized. We will look at the role of each participant in detail in a separate lesson.

How a Stock Exchange Works

Discover how the order book forms the price, how a trading session unfolds and what T+2 settlement means.

The exchange as a meeting place for orders

A modern stock exchange is no longer a hall full of people shouting prices. Today, trading takes place in an electronic system that receives buy and sell orders sent by authorized intermediaries and matches them automatically according to clear rules that are the same for all participants.

The difference between the best ask price and the best bid price is called the spread. A narrow spread usually indicates a liquid instrument, with many active buyers and sellers.

How the price is formed

The price of a share on the exchange is set neither by the exchange nor by the company. It emerges when a buyer and a seller agree on the same price. As a rule, orders are executed according to price priority, then time priority: the best price comes first, and at an equal price, the order entered earlier.

The example shows why the price changes continuously: each trade "consumes" orders from the book, and newly arriving orders shift the balance between supply and demand. If more buyers are willing to pay more, the price rises; if sellers dominate, the price falls.

The trading session

Trading takes place during intervals set by each exchange's rules, called trading sessions. The exact schedule and phases differ from one exchange to another and are published by the market operator. In general, a trading day may include the following phases:

1. Pre-openParticipants can enter, modify or cancel orders, but these are not yet executed.
2. OpeningOn some markets, the system calculates an opening price that allows the largest possible volume of accumulated orders to be executed.
3. Continuous tradingMatching orders are executed as soon as they appear, following the price-time priority rule.
4. ClosingThe closing price is set; it is often used as a reference for the next day and for valuing portfolios.

Settlement: what happens after the trade

The moment your order is executed does not necessarily coincide with the moment you actually receive the shares or the money. The actual transfer is called settlement and is carried out through the post-trading infrastructure, where the central depository records the change of ownership.

For example, on a market with a T+2 cycle, if you buy shares on a Monday, settlement takes place on Wednesday: only then are the shares registered in your name and the money reaches the seller. If a weekend or a non-business day falls in between, the period is extended accordingly.

Market Participants

Get to know the players in the capital market – issuers, investors, brokers, the exchange, the central depository and the CNPF – and how they work together.

Supply and demand for capital: issuers and investors

The capital market works like an ecosystem in which each participant has a well-defined role. At the two ends of the chain are those who need money and those who provide it.

Investors are those who buy securities. They can be individual investors (people investing their savings) or institutional investors (banks, insurance companies, investment funds), which manage large sums and usually have specialized analysis teams.

The interests of the two sides are complementary. The issuer seeks financing at the most reasonable cost possible, and the investor seeks a return that matches the risk taken. For investors to have confidence, issuers whose securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading must publish information about their activity and financial results. This information helps investors make informed decisions instead of relying on rumors.

The same investor can play different roles over time: today they buy a company's shares, and a few years later they sell them to another investor on the secondary market. A company can also be, at the same time, the issuer of its own shares and an investor in other issuers' bonds.

Intermediaries: investment firms

An individual investor does not send orders directly into the exchange's system. They act through an investment firm, often called a broker, which holds the required license and is a member of the market.

• Opens and manages the client's investment account.
• Receives the client's orders and sends them to the market for execution.
• Keeps records of the client's money and financial instruments.
• Assesses the investor's profile and informs the client about risks and costs.
• Depending on its license, may also offer other services, such as investment advice or intermediation of issues on the primary market.

Market infrastructure: the exchange and the central depository

For trades to be concluded correctly and safely, the market needs a shared infrastructure used by all participants.

Today, securities exist in dematerialized form: they are no longer paper certificates but electronic records. That is why the central depository's role is essential – the entry in its records confirms who owns the securities after settlement.

The supervisory authority: the CNPF

Trust is the foundation of any financial market. In the Republic of Moldova, the National Commission for Financial Markets (CNPF) regulates and supervises the capital market. Broadly speaking, the supervisory authority's role includes:

• Issuing the regulations that apply to market participants.
• Granting licenses and authorizations to intermediaries and market infrastructures.
• Supervising compliance with transparency and conduct rules.
• Protecting investors' rights and combating abusive market practices.

BIMx: The Stock Exchange of the Republic of Moldova

Learn what the Moldova International Stock Exchange is, who supervises it, who its shareholders are and what stage the trading launch has reached.

The authorized market operator

On 21 August 2026, the National Commission for Financial Markets (CNPF) authorized BIMx to manage and operate two markets: the Regulated Market and the Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF). Both operate under CNPF supervision, in accordance with Law No. 171/2012 on the Capital Market.

The infrastructure: platform, depository, brokers

• Trading platform: ARENA Trading, developed by the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and used on a SaaS basis.
• Settlement: through the Single Central Securities Depository (DCU), on a T+2 basis, in Moldovan lei (MDL).
• Investor access: exclusively through brokers, that is, investment firms licensed by the CNPF and admitted as exchange members.
• Market data: public, with a 15-minute delay, on bimx.md.

Who owns BIMx

BIMx is a public-private partnership. Its initial share capital is MDL 29,475,000 (about EUR 1.5 million), and its shareholders are ten institutional entities from the Republic of Moldova and Romania, from key sectors of the economy and the financial market.

Through the Public Property Agency, the state holds 20% of the shares. The Bucharest Stock Exchange is both a shareholder and a technical partner: it provides the trading platform.

What stage the launch has reached

1. 21 August 2026CNPF authorization for the Regulated Market and the MTF.
2. 28 September 2026The admission process for brokers and issuers begins, the final stage before trading is launched.
3. 1 October 2026The ARENA platform goes into production, according to the current operational timetable.
4. In parallelConnection to the DCU system, setting the operating rules, training brokers on ARENA Trading, and trading simulations.
5. By the end of 2026The first planned listing.

Shares

Understand what it means to own a share, what rights it gives you and how you can earn from dividends and price increases.

What a share is

If a company has 1,000,000 shares outstanding and you hold 10,000, you own 1% of the company. This does not mean you can take 1% of its buildings or equipment, but that you have proportional rights to its results and decisions, within the limits set by law and by the company's articles of association.

An important feature is limited liability: as a shareholder, your risk is limited to the amount you invested. If the company runs into trouble, you can lose the value of your shares, but you are not liable with your personal assets for the company's debts.

For the company, issuing shares is a way to raise capital without taking on debt: the money received from shareholders does not have to be repaid on a set date. In exchange, the company shares ownership and, by extension, future profits with the new shareholders.

Shareholder rights

Owning shares gives you a set of rights. The exact content depends on the type of shares and the company's articles of association, but in general, for ordinary shares, they include:

• The right to vote at the general meeting of shareholders, for example on electing the management bodies or approving the distribution of profit.
• The right to dividends, when the general meeting decides to distribute part of the profit.
• The right to information about the company's activity and financial position.
• The right to receive a share of the remaining assets in the event of liquidation, after all creditors have been paid.

How you earn from shares

The return on an investment in shares can come from two sources: dividends and capital gains.

A dividend is the part of the profit distributed to shareholders. It is not guaranteed: the company may decide to reinvest the profit in growth, or it may make no profit at all. A capital gain arises when you sell shares at a higher price than you paid for them. If the price falls, you record a capital loss.

What influences share prices

In the short term, a share's price reflects the balance between supply and demand on the exchange. In the long term, it tends to be influenced by the company's performance and by investors' expectations about future profits. Factors that can matter include:

• The company's financial results and growth prospects.
• The general economic situation, inflation and interest rates.
• Developments in the sector in which the company operates.
• The share's liquidity, that is, how easily it can be bought or sold.
• New information published by the issuer and overall investor sentiment.

Bonds

Learn how a bond works – face value, coupon, maturity – and why its price falls when interest rates rise.

What a bond is

If shares make you a co-owner, bonds make you a creditor. You have no voting rights and you do not share in the company's profit, but you are entitled to receive the promised payments, whether the company has a very good year or just an ordinary one. In the event of insolvency, creditors are usually paid before shareholders.

The elements of a bond

Government bonds and corporate bonds

Bonds differ first and foremost by issuer, and the issuer directly affects the level of risk.

• Government bonds are issued by the state to finance the budget or refinance debt. They are generally considered among the least risky instruments on the domestic market, because the state has stable sources of revenue, but they are not completely risk-free either.
• Corporate bonds are issued by companies. Because the risk that a company cannot pay its debts is usually higher, they often offer higher coupons than government bonds with a similar maturity.
• Municipal bonds are issued by local public authorities for infrastructure or local projects.

Bond prices and interest rates

Bonds can be traded on the secondary market before maturity, and their price does not necessarily stay equal to face value. The basic rule is: when market interest rates rise, the price of existing bonds falls, and vice versa.

The reason is simple. If you hold a bond with an 8% coupon and similar bonds are now being issued with a 10% coupon, nobody will pay the full face value for your less attractive bond. To sell it, you have to accept a lower price, so that the buyer earns a yield comparable to the market.

Return and Risk

Understand why a higher potential return comes with higher risk and how time horizon and diversification help you.

The risk–return relationship

One of the most important ideas in finance is that there is no return without risk. Investors agree to take on more risk only if they have the prospect of a higher potential gain. That is why instruments that promise high returns are almost always riskier as well.

The table above is a general, indicative comparison. In practice, risk depends on each individual issuer and instrument: a bond from a fragile company can be riskier than the shares of a solid one.

Types of risk

• Market risk – prices fall because of general factors, such as an economic slowdown.
• Issuer-specific risk – a particular company runs into problems, for example it loses important customers.
• Credit risk – a bond issuer fails to pay the coupons or the face value.
• Liquidity risk – you cannot find buyers at a reasonable price when you want to sell.
• Interest rate risk – rising interest rates reduce the price of existing bonds.
• Currency risk – if you invest in another currency, changes in its exchange rate against the leu can reduce your gain.
• Inflation risk – rising prices reduce the purchasing power of the money you earn.

Inflation and time horizon

The stated return on an investment is a nominal return. What really matters for your purchasing power is the real return, that is, the return after taking inflation into account.

Your time horizon is the period for which you can leave your money invested without needing it. The longer the horizon, the more time you have to ride out temporary price declines. Money you will need soon, for example for a planned expense in a few months, is usually better suited to instruments with small value fluctuations.

Diversification in brief

The saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket" sums up the idea of diversification: you spread your money across several instruments, issuers or sectors, so that a problem with one of them does not seriously hurt your whole portfolio.

Choosing a Broker and Opening an Account

Learn what to check before choosing a broker and the steps you take to open your investment account.

The broker's role for the beginner investor

Choosing a broker is one of an investor's first important decisions. It affects the safety of your transactions, the costs you will pay and the quality of your investing experience. It is worth comparing several options before signing a contract.

An important aspect is how clients' money and financial instruments are held. Market rules generally require client assets to be kept separate from the broker's own assets. Ask how this segregation is applied and what periodic statements you will receive about your balance and holdings.

What to check before you choose

• CNPF license – check on the CNPF's official website that the firm is licensed for the activities it offers you. Do not rely solely on claims made in advertising.
• BIMx membership – to buy instruments listed on the Moldova International Stock Exchange, the broker must be admitted as an exchange member. The list of members is published on bimx.md and is updated as brokers are admitted.
• Commissions and fees – the commission per trade, any minimum commission, account maintenance fees, and fees for deposits and withdrawals.
• Available markets and instruments – which markets you can trade on and what types of instruments are available to you.
• The platform and how orders are sent – online platform, mobile app, phone, or in person at the office.
• Transparency of information – the contract, the fee schedule and the risk disclosures should be clear and easy to find.
• Customer service – how easily you get answers, in what language and through which channels.

Steps to open an account

The exact procedure differs from one broker to another, but broadly speaking, opening an investment account involves the following steps:

1. IdentificationYou present a valid identity document, and the broker verifies your identity in line with know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering rules.
2. Providing personal informationYou provide contact details, information about the source of your funds and, if the broker requests them, other supporting documents.
3. Investor profile assessmentYou answer a questionnaire about your knowledge, experience, financial situation and investment objectives.
4. Signing the contractYou carefully read the contract, the fee schedule and the risk disclosure, then sign.
5. Funding the accountYou transfer money to the account indicated by the broker, usually by bank transfer from an account in your own name.
6. Platform accessYou receive your login details and can track your balance and holdings and, later, send orders.

The investor profile: why it matters

The profile questionnaire is not a mere formality. It helps the broker understand whether certain instruments or services are suitable for you, and it also helps you reflect on your own objectives and risk tolerance.

Order Types and Your First Trade

Learn the difference between market, limit and stop orders and walk through a first trade step by step, with all the costs.

What an order is

The order type you choose determines how much control you have over the price and how certain it is that the order will be executed. There is no "best" order type for every situation; each has advantages and limitations. The order types available may differ depending on the market and the broker.

The main order types

A common example of a stop order is the stop-loss order: you hold shares bought at MDL 50 and set a sell order with a trigger at MDL 45. If the price drops to MDL 45, the order is activated and tries to sell, limiting the loss. In a fast-moving market, however, the sale may take place below MDL 45.

Your first trade, step by step

1. Check your available balanceMake sure you have enough money in your account for the trade value plus commissions.
2. Analyze the instrument and the order bookRead the information published by the issuer, and look at the bid and ask prices and the quantities available.
3. Choose the order type, price and quantityDecide whether to use a market order or a limit order, and set the validity period.
4. Review and send the orderReread all the details, especially the side (buy/sell), the quantity and the price, then confirm.
5. Track execution and confirmationCheck whether the order was executed fully, partially or not at all, and keep the confirmation you receive from the broker.
6. Wait for settlementAfter settlement, the instruments are registered in your name in the central depository's records.

Calculating costs and the break-even point

Continuing the example, if Andrei later sold the 300 shares at MDL 31.50, he would receive MDL 9,450, minus an illustrative selling commission of 0.5%, or MDL 47.25. Net amount: MDL 9,402.75. Net gain: 9,402.75 − 9,286.20 = MDL 116.55, before taxes. Without commissions, the gain would have been MDL 210; costs reduced the result by almost half.