The market for shares, bonds, funds, options, futures and other derivatives is called the
"securities market".
Securities are negotiable instruments that certificate debt securities or equity rights. They are
mutually exchangeable and available in large numbers of equal denominations. This makes them suitable
for trading on the stock market. Securities are a subgroup of negotiable instruments and do not
include money-market instruments such as bank notes and cheques.
Market participants
Investors as a whole affect the activity that takes place at securities exchanges. As a member of this
group, you contribute by means of your investment decisions. Nevertheless, private investors are only
considered indirect market participants, because trading is performed by financial companies that are
the actual market participants.
In Switzerland, admission to professional securities trading requires authorisation from the
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
(FINMA) . The FINMA acts in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Law
on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading (SESTA), which sets out the capital requirements, the
expertise required of employees and the disclosure obligations, among other things. In Switzerland,
only banks and other financial companies (stockbrokers, trading houses) are registered as securities
dealers. In theory, natural persons could be admitted as well. All Swiss and foreign financial
institutions that engage in professional securities trading may apply for participation in trading on the
SIX Swiss Exchange.
Details on participation in the SIX Swiss Exchange.
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