A member of a stock exchange responsible for providing liquidity in a security by being willing to buy and sell at all times is known as...

The role of a market maker is to facilitate trading in securities by providing liquidity; they do this by being willing to buy and sell securities at all times. This liquidity provision is vital for ensuring that there is always a buyer or seller available, which helps to stabilize prices and promotes efficient market functioning. Market makers typically post both buy and sell prices for a specific security, and they earn a profit from the difference, known as the spread, between the two prices.

While a specialist, found primarily in traditional stock exchanges, also plays a role in providing liquidity and maintaining fair and orderly markets, they typically handle specific securities assigned to them, acting as the primary source of liquidity for those particular stocks. This means specialists work in a more regulated and assigned manner compared to market makers, who can deal in a broader range of securities and are required to maintain their own inventory.

Brokers primarily act as intermediaries between buyers and sellers, facilitating trades but do not typically provide liquidity themselves. Similarly, dealers buy and sell from their own inventory but may not continuously post prices like market makers do. Therefore, market makers are distinctly positioned in the market to ensure visibility and activity, making them essential for maintaining fluid trading environments.