Unlike other financial assets (such as equities or bonds), the value of currencies is not determined on a centralized market. Instead, currencies are traded on a global network of traders known as forex. On this over-the-counter market, foreign exchange dealers—specialized agents operating on behalf of a network of international corporations, pension funds, insurance companies, hedge funds, and other major investors—hold stocks of currencies which they are ready to buy and sell to anyone who comes to the counter (usually international banks and asset managers).