Last Monday saw already the 30th edition of the successful event series ETF/ETP Lunch at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Frank Mohr, Corporates & Markets, Head of ETF Sales-Trading at Commerzbank, spoke on the topic of "Efficient ETF trading and possible stumbling blocks". His presentation encountered great interest from the numerous professional investors and participants of the Swiss financial market in the audience.

In his presentation, Frank Mohr showed the differences between primary and secondary trading of ETFs. He emphasized the low trading costs and pointed out other advantages for investors. ComStage is currently a provider of 184 and Commerzbank market maker for 486 ETFs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.

The next event will be held on 3 June 2013 in form of a roundtable. Participants will be Amundi, Invesco Powershares, Julius Baer and Ossiam. Information about further dates and topics is available in our event calendar. Current statistics about the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange are available in the report ETF Quarterly Statistics.

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As at the end of April, SIX Swiss Exchange posted a turnover of CHF 358'589 million for the current year. This corresponds to an increase of more than 10% compared to the same period in the previous year, despite one trading day less (82 versus 83). Especially the segments equities (incl. funds and ETPs) and ETFs had a positive effect on the growth in turnover, with increases of 16.4% and 24.6% respectively, whereas turnover in the segments for bonds (both CHF and international) as well as structured products and warrants remained below the values of 2012.

Increase of trading volume

As for the number of transactions, SIX Swiss Exchange also posted an increase across all trading segments. A total of 11'637'574 trades since the beginning of the year corresponds to a change of almost 5% compared to the first four months in 2012. Again, the biggest increase was recorded in the ETF segment, with 22.1% (and 333'302 transactions). When comparing April 2013 with the previous month, the total of 3'155'957 trades amounts to an increase of almost 12% more transactions executed on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse.

Launch of Sponsored Funds: trade funds like shares

Since March 2013, the results of the segment equities including funds and ETPs are comprising the numbers of the new segment Sponsored Funds. As at the end of April, a turnover of CHF 39.30 million has been recorded since launch. Sponsored Funds allow private and institutional investors to trade traditional mutual funds like shares. Further information is available on our website.

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

More detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report published today. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM), while our tool Intraday Activity allows a monitoring of daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange published the latest Bonds Quarterly Statistics. In the first quarter of 2013, turnover in the CHF bonds segment totaled CHF 46.6 billion, which equates to an increase of 8.6% over the previous quarter (CHF 42.9 bn). By contrast, turnover fell by 10.5% (CHF 5.4 bn) compared to Q1 2012. The situation was similar for international bonds: the turnover of EUR 350 million in Q1 2013 was 31.1% higher than in Q4 2012, but down on Q1 2012 (-33.9%).

Strong first month in the new year

A comparison of the individual months shows that 2013 got off to a strong start in January: turnover in the CHF bonds segment rose 5% compared to December 2012 to CHF 18.9 billion. This was followed by a weaker February, where turnover fell by almost 25%, and a further decline of 4.6% on the previous month in March.

Focus on government bonds

Government bonds was the most actively traded sector in CHF bonds in Q1 at CHF 16.3 billion, closely followed by financials, with trading totaling CHF 15.4 billion. The high volume of government bonds comprised 87.8% domestic bonds, whereas financials comprised 41.5% domestic bonds.

Yields on 10-year Swiss Confederation bonds increased from 0.58% at end-2012 to 0.75% (as at the end of March). The broad-based SBI? AAA-BBB total return index stood at 125.0 points at the end of March 2013, down 0.3% on its value at end-2012. Our website provides more information on bond indices.

Broad information offering

The report "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" is published quarterly and contains turnover figures as well as information about Swiss and international bonds traded. Previous editions are available in our archives. Furthermore, our website provides up-to-date information on new admissions and market indicators, interest structure rates as well as volume and turnover.

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Yet another chapter has been added to the success story of COSI: shortly after the start of the second quarter 2013, the outstanding volume of structured products using the unique COSI collateralization topped the 3-billion mark. COSI thus reached another milestone, after having passed the threshold of CHF 2 bn in March 2011.

A comprehensive review of the growth of COSI is given by Matthias Müller, Head COSI Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, in an interview in the Schweizer Jahrbuch für Strukturierte Produkte (in German).

Constantly rising recognition

Since the launch in September 2009, seven active issuers have already launched more than 6'200 COSI products in fourteen different trading currencies and with over 1'200 different underlying assets. More detailed figures are available in the latest edition of the COSI Newsletter published by Scoach.

Protection against issuer default

Due to the collateral backing of the structured product's current value, the counterparty risk posed by the issuer is minimized to the greatest extent possible. This multiple award-winning service highlights the commitment of SIX Swiss Exchange to consistently promote and strengthen investor protection. More information about COSI can be found on our website.

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SIX Swiss Exchange finished the 1st quarter 2013 with an increase in turnover: with CHF 264'982 million it is almost 5% higher than Q1 2012 (CHF 253'228 mn) - despite three trading days less. In that period, the trading segment equities including funds and ETPs rose by 10.4%. If the values of March 2013 are compared to February 2013, the increase recorded in the most important segment of the Swiss exchange even reached 12.5%. Overall turnover in March 2013 amounted to CHF 89'863 mn.

Meanwhile, trading volumes on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse in the 1st quarter 2013 remained flat: with a total of 8'481'510 transactions it tops the same period in the previous year by 0.3%. However, compared to February 2013, 4.1% more transactions have been recorded in March (total: 2'822'551). Here too, the segment equities including funds and ETPs did slightly better, with an increase of 4.5% (overall: 2'630'977 transactions).

New segment for Sponsored Funds

The results of the segment equities including funds and ETPs in March 2013 are the first to comprise the numbers of Sponsored Funds. In this new segment, traditional mutual funds can be traded like shares. Further information about this attractive exchange service that SIX Swiss Exchange launched as part of its "Over the Exchange" initiative and its many advantages is available on our website.

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

More detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report published today. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM), while our tool Intraday Activity allows a monitoring of daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

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In the first quarter of 2013, SIX Swiss Exchange posted an ETF trading turnover of CHF 23.1 billion. This is shown in the report ETF Quarterly Statistics, published today. In both January (CHF 8'544 billion) and February (CHF 7'882 billion), a higher monthly turnover was achieved than in the best month of 2012 (February 2012: CHF 7'649 billion).

Equities from developed markets the most actively traded asset class

With CHF 10 billion, ETFs based on equities from developed regions made up 43% of total turnover. Commodities and precious metals contributed almost 28% of the total turnover for the ETF segment with CHF 6.4 billion. This saw six of the ten most actively traded ETFs in Q1 invest in equities from developed regions, followed by three products based on gold and one ETF in the emerging markets category.

For the sixth quarter in a row, the CS ETF (CH) on SMI ended the quarter as the most actively traded ETF, with a trading turnover of CHF 1'864 million. Second place in this list for the same period was occupied by iShares MSCI EMG, with a trading turnover of CHF 814 million. At the same time, CS ETF remained the best-performing product provider in the first quarter with 25%, followed by iShares with 20%, and UBS ETF newly in third place with 19%.

Take your pick - from our vast range of Exchange Traded Funds

SIX Swiss Exchange offers you an extensive range of ETFs. In the first quarter of 2013, the selection increased by another 34 ETFs, including the first ETFs on various Solactive Global Indices and SXI Life Sciences. As at the end of Q1, the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange contained 915 products. Furthermore, SIX Swiss Exchange welcomed a new issuer in January: Vanguard. This meant that as of the end of March, ETFs were being traded from 19 providers, with 23 official market makers providing liquidity.

More transactions carried out

The number of transactions carried out on SIX Swiss Exchange also increased in the first quarter, reaching a total of 235'943 - almost 16'000 more than in the same quarter of 2012. This also saw the average transaction size increase by around 2.5% to CHF 97'819.

Extensive information

The report "ETF Quarterly Statistics" contains the most important facts and market data from the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. The latest market data and up-to-date information on turnover trends and new listings are available on our website.

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The Swiss Biotech Report 2013 focuses on how to turn know-how into products, services and innovation, with articles of relevant Swiss stakeholders in the biotech value chain covering topics such as the generation of know-how, the protection of inventions as well as the creation of a product and its successful introduction into the market. Once again, SIX Swiss Exchange also contributed to the report.

How to secure funding for basic research in Switzerland?

Together with Jürg Zürcher from Ernst & Young, Andrea von Bartenwerffer, Senior Relationship Manager Issuer Relations at SIX Swiss Exchange, moderates a panel discussion on "How to secure funding for basic research in Switzerland". Dr. Marc Gitzinger (BioVersys), Dr. Marjan Kraak (ETH transfer), Bob Pooler (valuationLAB), Harry Welten (Cytos) and Dr. Andreas Wicki (HBM Partners) talk about the outsourcing of basic research, the flexibility and freedom needed by young entrepreneurs and researchers and the generation of value-added products.

The leading biotechnology conference in Switzerland

The new report was presented at the Swiss Biotech Day, held today at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. The program of the event contained further highlights: keynotes on topics such as Ageing, Longevity and Preventive Medicine by Lord Howe, UK Department of Health, Christoph Nabholz, Swiss Re and Harald Borrmann, Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland) Ltd, respectively. The event also hosted the annual general assembly of the Swiss Biotech Association and brought together more than 200 senior executives from the biotech industry.

Europe's leading exchange for Life Sciences

SIX Swiss Exchange is Europe's leading exchange for Life Sciences companies and offers both Swiss and foreign companies an ideal environment for raising capital. To learn more about our advantages for equity issuers, you can watch our new film or read our publications.

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The new film shows the reasons for a listing on SIX Swiss Exchange and explains not only the advantages Switzerland as a financial center has to offer, but also the added value of such a listing.

The many advantages

With its globally networked, strongly capitalized and well functioning capital market, Switzerland has the ideal conditions for a listing. As a key pillar of the Swiss financial center, SIX Swiss Exchange gives companies access to international and financially strong investors. Moreover, the exchange makes work easier for issuers through first-class, needs-based services and a broad network. Newly listed companies benefit immediately from high liquidity and visibility since they are included in the SPI as of their second trading day, regardless of where they are domiciled.

Cooperative partnerships

Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "Thanks to the new film, we have an interesting way to show potential clients the advantages of the Swiss financial center and the added value of a listing on SIX Swiss Exchange. With our comprehensive and personal advisory services and industry-leading know-how, we can support issuers efficiently on their way to new growth opportunities."

Everything you need to know about a listing

A comprehensive overview and helpful information on all topics relevant to a listing on SIX Swiss Exchange can be found in the corresponding publications. Further information on our range of services for issuers can be found on our website.

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On 21 March, the sixth edition of the Exchange Traded Product Day took place in Zurich. Once again, the event co-organized by SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse met with keen interest and attracted 250 visitors. The practice-oriented supporting program convinced with a broad choice of renown experts that shared their extensive knowledge on current investment themes and product innovations.

Sponsored Funds - trade funds like shares

Special attention was paid to the presentation on the new segment for Sponsored Funds that SIX Swiss Exchange had launched at the beginning of March together with pioneer Bank Julius Baer. Oliver Heusser, Head Fund Secondary Trading at Bank Julius Baer, presented the numerous advantages of the new segment, such as high levels of transparency, continuous pricing by a market maker and instant order execution.

The segment for Sponsored Funds is yet another attractive exchange service that SIX Swiss Exchange is launching as part of its "Over the Exchange" initiative. Further information about the new segment and its many advantages as well as the broad product universe is available on our website.

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Algomi provides access to SIX Swiss Exchange as a standalone connectivity service or integrated as a component of its Synchronicity pairing platform that is transforming the sales and trading of larger and less liquid instruments within banks and with their end clients.

"Algomi is pleased to extend its relationship with SIX Swiss Exchange and become a certified Application Service Provider", said Stu Taylor, CEO of Algomi. "We have a lot of demand for connectivity to SIX Swiss Exchange from our clients and we are excited to be able to offer access in a convenient package." Formed in 2012 by senior bank traders and technologists, Algomi has rapidly attracted top tier bank and exchange attention with its innovative capabilities that support credit trading in the new regulatory regimes.

Maneesh Wadhwa, Relationship Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "We are very happy to see Algomi join our range of Service Providers. Our participants now enjoy more options to access the reference market for over 35'000 securities and to benefit from the world's most advanced trading technology."

A list of all approved Service Providers of SIX Swiss Exchange is available on our website.

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Only a few days after the 102nd International Women's Day, 80 women inaugurated the trading day on SIX Swiss Exchange by ringing the stock exchange bell. Introduced in 2011, the bell is only rung to mark special occasions. The event took place following an invitation by Corporate Women Directors International (CWDI), a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. with aim to connect women in leading positions in business from around the globe.

Martin Schönenberger, Head Member Relations SIX Swiss Exchange, accompanied the women through the opening ceremony and commented: "We are particularly pleased that this occasion allows us to welcome several representatives of companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. Besides underlining our broad international network, this event is a pleasant confirmation of the increasing numbers of women in positions of leadership."

CWDI already opened trading on several exchanges all around the world, gathering large numbers of specifically invited guests on each occasion. After Hong Kong, São Paulo, Warsaw, Barcelona, Istanbul, Madrid, Johannesburg and Toronto, SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich is the ninth station since 2009 and has been deliberately selected to become the latest link in this chain of globally relevant exchanges.

See also the video contribution of the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger: "Der Beitrag der Schweizer Frauen sollte begrüsst werden" (in German).

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During February 2013, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse recorded a total of 2'710'958 transactions, slightly less than in February 2012 (2'771'241). But since the start of the year, the number of transactions adds up to 5'658'867 which corresponds to a plus of 1.9% compared to the same period in the previous year. The strongest increase was recorded in the ETF segment with +14.7%, followed by Equities with 2.4%.

Turnover above the previous year's level

Turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse reached CHF 84'173 million in February 2013, also slightly below February 2012 (CHF 88'885 mn). Year-on-year however a growth of 4.1% could be observed: in the first 41 trading days since the beginning of the year, turnover rose to CHF 175'042 million, driven by the growth in the segments ETFs (+16.3%) and Equities (+9.1%).

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

More detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM), while our tool Intraday Activity allows a monitoring of daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

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With today's launch of the segment for Sponsored Funds, investors in traditional mutual funds can enjoy for the first time all the benefits of regulated exchange trading on SIX Swiss Exchange. Thanks to the continuous pricing and instant order execution, investment decisions in fund trading can now be implemented immediately and at known prices.

Oliver Heusser, Head Fund Secondary Trading at Bank Julius Baer, and Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "We are delighted that with Sponsored Funds, we are launching an innovative solution for the Swiss financial center that offers genuine added value for trading participants and their clients." Both will provide insights into the new segment on a joint launch event.

The segment for Sponsored Funds is yet another attractive exchange service that SIX Swiss Exchange is launching as part of its "Over the Exchange" initiative. Further information about the new segment and its many advantages as well as the broad product universe is available on our website.

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The Exchange Traded Product Days go on air for the sixth time in 2013. This event series is more in keeping with the spirit of the times than ever before, offering professional investors the ideal forum in which to talk to the experts about structured products and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

In addition to the extensive supporting program, with lectures and round-table discussions, you can look forward in particular to this year's keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Heiner Flassbeck. Heiner Flassbeck is a recognized and respected economist and authority on politics in Europe. He has held positions including serving as Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Finance, where he was responsible for all international relations. From 2003 until the end of 2012 he held the post of Chief Economist at UNCTAD in Geneva. The Economic Roundtable, moderated by Swiss TV presenter Reto Lipp and featuring the chief strategists of major Swiss banks, also promises a lively exchange of views.

Visit us at the ETPD 2013 in Zurich, and talk face-to-face with the financial professionals. Further information on the program, as well as how to register, is available on the ETPD website. Please note that the number of participants is limited. Other events can be found in our event calendar.

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In keeping with the motto "Crisis? What Crisis?", Bank Vontobel and SIX Swiss Exchange conducted a roadshow from 31 January to 6 February 2013 in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt as well as in Luxembourg. Over 100 representatives of the German asset management sector, amongst them delegates of the renowned institutions Oaklet and MPF, were filled in with details over the current market situation within the Eurozone and safe investment opportunities such as the Swiss safety standard Collateral Secured Instruments (COSI).

Matthias Müller, Head COSI Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, presented the extraordinary advantages of COSI in regard of security and explained also how German investors can gain access to the Swiss-made service.

Protection against issuer default

Due to the securing of the structured product with a pledge, COSI means that investors may eliminate the issuer risk as best possible. This multiple award-winning service highlights the commitment of SIX Swiss Exchange to consistently promote and strengthen investor protection. More information about COSI can be found on our website.

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In a joint Media Release issued today, SIX and Deutsche Börse have announced that the Scoach cooperation agreement, launched in 2007, is to be terminated as of 30 June 2013. The contributing markets of Scoach will return to the parent companies, and the successful exchange for Structured Products in Zurich will be continued.

Strategic focus

The purpose of this decision is to target each market more specifically. Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "Trading in Structured Products is strategically very important for SIX. We therefore intend to focus even more strongly on the needs of the issuer and the Swiss market as a whole in future and provide support with appropriate measures."

With this step, SIX reinforces its commitment to the Swiss market for Structured Products and will decide in the following months, which organizational structure offers the biggest potential for its future development.

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Last Monday, the 27th edition of the event series ETF/ETP Lunch took place at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Michael John Lytle, Managing Director at Source, and Arnaud Jobert, European Head of Structuring Volatility at J.P. Morgan, spoke on the topic of "Volatility & value-added opportunities in ETFs".

Michael John Lytle and Arnaud Jobert presented the milestones reached by Source in its still brief history as well as latest product developments in the area of ETFs on volatility strategies. The audience was particularly interested in the practical product examples given by the two presenters on the topic of hedging.

Source entered the Swiss market in September 2012 and is currently the provider of 16 ETFs and 16 ETPs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. J.P. Morgan provides the market making for two of the ETFs listed by Source. Further information on the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange is available on our website.

The next ETF/ETP Lunch will be held on 1 March 2013 in partnership with Lyxor. The topic will be "In quest of return: defensive ETF strategies". Information on future dates and program content can be found in our event calendar.

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On 6 and 7 February 2013, the 15th edition of the FONDS financial fair took place at the Kongresshaus in Zurich. Once again, SIX Swiss Exchange was present with a booth - this time in partnership with SIX Securities Services and Swiss Fund Data, a joint venture of the exchange and the Swiss Funds Association SFA. SIX Swiss Exchange used this opportunity to present itself and particularly its high-growth ETF segment to the numerous visitors: more than 6'000 private and professional investors attended the FONDS'13.

As a leading regulated exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange ensures orderly and secure trading, allowing investors to react in real-time and with maximum flexibility to market developments. Thanks to the highly diversified choice of ETFs from renowned providers they can reach their investment goals easily, safely and cost-effectively. Our website provides extensive information on all providers, market makers and traded products.

Informative events

Every year, SIX Swiss Exchange organizes numerous events for investors and participates on many exhibitions in order to actively foster information about ETFs. Our two series Exchange Traded Product Days and ETF/ETP Lunch, held in close collaboration with issuers and market makers, are particularly popular.

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In January 2013, the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse reached a total of 2'947'832. This corresponds to an increase of 5.9% over the same period in the previous year. The strongest gain was recorded by the ETF segment, with +23.3% (86'324 trades), followed by Equities (incl. Funds, ETSFs + ETPs) with +6.2% (2'733'813 trades). An even bigger rise of 52.0% could be observed in comparison with the previous month. Against December 2012, growth was most notable in the segments Equities (+59.8%) as well as Structured Products & Warrants (+50.4%).

Substantial increase in turnover

Turnover figures show a similar picture. Compared to January 2012 they have risen by 14.6% to CHF 90'827 million, again led by the growth in the segments ETFs (+32.8%) and Equities (+18.2%). In comparison to December 2012, turnover figures for January 2013 (with 17 and 21 trading days, respectively) have even risen by more than 50%. Here too, the segment for Equities (incl. Funds, ETSFs + ETPs) managed to post the biggest gain, growing by 59.8% to reach CHF 60'687 million.

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

More detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report published today. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM), while our tool Intraday Activity allows a monitoring of daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

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COSI, the innovative collateralization service for structured products developed by SIX, continued its growth in 2012. In an interview (in German), Matthias Müller, Head COSI Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, speaks about the milestones that have been reached during the ongoing success story since the launch in 2009.

A major one has been the internationalization of COSI, for example with the admission of UK-based collateral providers. Furthermore, Matthias Müller explains the functioning of COSI and provides an outlook on the growth potential of this globally unique collateralization service.

Structured products: the most important persons

The interview was published in the Schweizer Jahrbuch für Strukturierte Produkte 2013 (in German) which also contains another article on COSI entitled Sicherheit bleibt in Mode (in German). The fourth issue of the industry's yearbook, published by Derivative Partners, also includes the list of the 30 most important persons in the Swiss derivatives business.

Part of the list are two representatives of the Swiss exchange, both as new entrants: Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, and Matthias Müller are ranked 16th and 20th. First place goes to Jan Schoch, CEO of EFG Financial Products. The company successfully listed on SIX Swiss Exchange in October 2012 and is the biggest issuer of COSI products.

Protection against issuer default

Due to the securing of the structured product with a pledge, COSI means that investors may eliminate the issuer risk as best possible. This multiple award-winning service highlights the commitment of SIX Swiss Exchange to consistently promote and strengthen investor protection. More information about COSI can be found on our website.

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Last Monday saw the first edition of the ETF/ETP-Lunch, the successful event series of SIX Swiss Exchange. Held in partnership with ETF Securities, it was already the 26th edition of the information event for professional investors that had been launched in January 2011.

Rima Haddad, Head of Switzerland & Middle East, and Martin Arnold, Senior Research Analyst, spoke on the topic of "Commodities - Outlook 2013 and Implementation strategies using ETPs". Their presentation at the ConventionPoint in Zurich encountered great interest from the numerous professional investors and participants of the Swiss financial market in the audience.

In their presentation, Rima Haddad and Martin Arnold gave an overview on the milestones reached by ETF Securities before speaking about the latest product developments in the area of ETPs with currency-hedging. Particularly the topic of commodity-based products was a cornerstone of their outlook for 2013 and met with great interest from the audience.

The product range of ETF Securities on the Swiss exchange currently comprises 8 ETFs as well as 28 ETPs that the company has listed in January 2013. Further information on the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange is available on our website.

The next event will be held on 18 February 2013 in partnership with Source. The topic will be "Volatility and value-added opportunities in ETFs". Information on future dates and program content can be found in our event calendar.

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Today, the U.S. investment management company Vanguard Asset Management listed its first ETFs in Switzerland. The three new products replicate the FTSE Emerging Markets Index, the FTSE All-World Index and the S&P 500. As a result, the number of ETF issuers on SIX Swiss Exchange grows by another international provider to 19, whereas investors now can choose from an even broader ETF-range of 905 products. An overview of all new listings is available on our website.

In recent years, Vanguard was the fastest-growing ETF provider in the United States. Today it is one of the largest asset management companies in the world. In an interview, Jacques-Etienne Doerr, Managing Officer for Vanguard Investments Switzerland GmbH, describes Switzerland as an important market for Vanguard and explains why it has chosen SIX Swiss Exchange for a listing of its ETFs. Furthermore, he speaks about the advantages of ETFs for investors and about current trends.

Attractive growth potential

Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We warmly welcome our new ETF provider and wish Vanguard a lot of success on the Swiss market." SIX Swiss Exchange is one of Europe's major ETF marketplaces and offers issuers ideal conditions for long-term growth. For the latest market data and up-to-date information on turnover trends in the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange, please consult our website.

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In an interview (only in German) with the Swiss Newspaper St. Galler Tagblatt from 29 January 2013, Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, expresses his criticism of the Minder-Initiative on which the Swiss People will vote on 3 March 2013. He deplores that the initiative is only targeted at one in every thousand companies in Switzerland - namely those that are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. Furthermore, Christian Katz speaks about the danger that the unequal treatment may lead to delistings.

Locational advantages endangered

By delisting, companies currently listed on the Swiss exchange could avoid having to conform to the requirements of the initiative. This would have a significant negative impact on transparency. In the interview, Christian Katz also highlights the risk of harmful consequences on the attractiveness of Switzerland as a business location and warns against the unfortunate signal that is sent to other countries should the initiative be voted in.

Against excessive salaries

Meanwhile, Christian Katz does not defend excessive salaries, but on the contrary speaks in favour of improved corporate governance and wage policies. In the same context, he mentions the indirect counter-proposal from the Federal Council and parliament. Further information on this topic is provided in another interview with Christian Katz.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange published the latest Bonds Quarterly Statistics During the fourth quarter 2012, turnover in the CHF bonds segment amounted to CHF 42.9 billion, corresponding to an increase of CHF 4.6 billion over Q4 2011. For the entire year 2012, turnover in the secondary market for CHF bonds rose by 7.0% compared to the previous year, reaching CHF 185.3 billion. The number of transactions increased by 6.9% in 2012, reaching a total of 539'300 (2011: 504'594).

Pleasing growth

Compared to 2011, an increase was also recorded for primary-listed CHF bonds: as of 31 December 2012 there were a total of 1'598 (2011: 1'538). In the last year, 355 CHF bonds were newly listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, with 187 from Swiss issuers and 168 from foreign issuers. Year-on-year, issuance volumes rose from CHF 75.8 bn to CHF 82.1 bn. Again, Swiss issuers reached a higher market share as foreign issuers, with CHF 43.9 bn vs. CHF 38.2 bn. At year end, the total amount of outstanding volumes of CHF bonds corresponded to CHF 557.3 bn (with CHF 281.1 bn of Swiss issuers and CHF 276.2 bn of foreign issuers).

Bond indices closing higher

In 2012, the broad SBI® AAA-BBB Total Return Index rose by 4.21%, while the SBI® Domestic AAA-BBB Total Return rose by 2.65%. An even more pronounced growth was recorded for the SBI® Foreign AAA-BBB Total Return, raising by 6.01%. Our website provides more information on bond indices.

An important trend in 2012 was the listing of collateralized structures on SIX Swiss Exchange. After a pause of several years, we saw asset backed securities returning with two listings, and also the listing of a large number of covered bonds. Another trend was the listing of hybrid structures. As regulators increased the capital requirements, banks and insurance companies more frequently resorted to the issuance of hybrid capital in order to strengthen their own capital basis.

Broad information offering

The report "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" is published quarterly and contains turnover figures as well as information about Swiss and international bonds traded. Previous editions are available in our archives. Furthermore, our website provides up-to-date information on new admissions and market indicators, interest structure rates as well as volume and turnover.

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After having listed its first Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on SIX Swiss Exchange in September 2012, ETF Securities now launches its first Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) in Switzerland. This gives investors yet more options to invest in the major commodity sectors: the 28 new ETPs all replicate a sub-index of the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Indices, from A like Agriculture to Z like Zinc. Also, all the new products are currency-hedged in Swiss francs.

Alain Picard, Head Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, welcomes ETF Securities as a new issuer of ETPs: "These additional 28 ETPs complement our existing offering of passive financial products for investors and are yet another proof or the attractiveness of SIX Swiss Exchange for issues of financial products." At the ETF/ETP-Lunch of 28 January 2013, ETF Securities will present the topic "Commodities - Outlook 2013 and Implementation strategies using ETPs".

Consistent implementation of investment strategies

ETPs are collateralized, non-interest-earning bearer debt securities that are continuously traded on the exchange. By letting investors participate in the performance of an underlying asset either with or without leverage, they allow a consistent implementation of specific market expectations and investment ideas. Our overview table shows how they differ from other passive investment products. Further information about ETPs is available on our website.

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In the 4th quarter of 2012, the Swiss exchange posted a ETF trading turnover of CHF 18.2 billion. This is shown in the report ETF Quarterly Statistics, published today by SIX Swiss Exchange. In total, turnover in the ETF segment during the calendar year 2012 amounted to CHF 76'082 million. Despite remaining below the level of the record year 2011, the turnover posted for 2012 is substantially higher than in 2010. This amounts to a European market share of approximately 15%. With 204'132 trades in the 4th quarter, a total of 799'721 transactions has been executed in the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange in 2012, with an average trade size of CHF 95'135.

Highest turnover in Commodities & Precious Metals

Five of the ten ETFs with the highest turnover on the Swiss exchange during Q4 invested in gold, followed by three ETFs on Equity Developed Markets and two on Emerging Markets. With CHF 1'228, CS ETF (CH) on SMI has again defended its position as the ETF with the highest turnover - for the fifth quarter in a row.

Overall, ETFs on Commodities & Precious Metals recorded a turnover of CHF 6'572 million, representing a 36% share of total turnover in the ETF segment. A close second was the asset class Equity Developed Markets, with turnover of CHF 6'382 million, which equates to a share of 35%. CS ETF was once again the biggest provider by turnover in the third quarter with 24%, followed by iShares with 22% and ZKB with a 16% share.

888 listed ETFs - a new high

During the 4th quarter 2012, eight new ETFs were listed on SIX Swiss Exchange: two UBS ETFs on physical gold, three products on MSCI indices by iShares and HSBC combined, another product by iShares on the S&P 500 as well as two ETFs from db x-trackers on bond indices. As of 31 December 2012, the number of ETFs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange stood at a new record high of 888 (including 139 in additional trading currencies) by 18 different issuers; 23 official market makers are providing liquidity (Q3: 22).

Extensive information

The report "ETF Quarterly Statistics" contains the most important facts and market data from the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. The latest market data and up-to-date information on turnover trends and new listings are available on our website.

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On the 250 trading days of 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse registered a total of 31'549'599 transactions, 21.2% less than in 2011. The only segment that saw a higher trading volume was Bonds CHF (+6.9%). Turnover also fell in 2012, to CHF 892,6 billion (-23.1%). Again, only Bonds CHF posted an increase over 2011 (+7.0%). Detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report.

Expanding our offering

Despite a globally perceptible decline of trading activities in 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange continued to broaden the offering for its clients. Examples are the internationalization of the COSI segment, the introduction of co-location and X-stream INET, the world's fastest trading technology, the market extension of SLS to over 4'200 European equities or the improvements of the CONNEXOR services for Distribution and Listing as well as Reporting.

Furthermore, four new companies successfully listed on SIX Swiss Exchange in 2012: the trading group DKSH, Swiss Finance & Property Investment AG, Zug Estates Holding AG and EFG Financial Products. SIX Swiss Exchange also strengthened its international presence, increasing its outreach to potential clients in Russia and India.

If you want to learn more about the products and services of SIX Swiss Exchange, our brochure provides more information.

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Since December 2012, physically replicating equity ETFs with a currency hedging are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. These products do not entirely remove currency risk but they allow investors to significantly reduce it. In a guest article, Dr. Christian Gast, head of iShares Switzerland, explains currency hedging options with iShares ETFs.

Although 2012 was a good year for a number of industrialized countries that saw the values of several indices increase, currency effects reduced the yields of global equity investors. Because the strength of the Swiss franc, in combination with the devaluation of foreign currencies, resulted in losses, few Swiss investors achieved total performance . As Dr. Christian Gast from iShares explains, the industry acknowledges this risk and increasingly offers ETFs to reduce the deviation between the reference currency of the investor and the currency of the securities in the index.

Attractive ETF range for SIX Swiss Exchange

As an ETF issuer of the first hour, iShares - which belongs to investment manager BlackRock - listed its first products on the Swiss exchange in 2001. The product range offered by iShares includes 85 products. The ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange currently comprises a record amount of 892 ETFs.

SIX Swiss Exchange always strives to increase its appeal as a trading venue for new providers and products so that both institutional and private investors can cover their investment needs in the best possible way. Our website provides an overview of all products on SIX Swiss Exchange.

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In his guest article, Bernd Volk, Head of European Covered Bond Research at Deutsche Bank, looks at the covered bond issuance in 2013. According to him, market sentiment will remain vulnerable and issuance is likely to remain low in 2013. Furthermore, he explains why he thinks that we are in unchartered territory.

Deutsche Bank a leading global investment bank with a substantial private clients franchise. With more than 100'000 employees in more than 70 countries, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services throughout the world.

Broad information offering

Up-to-date information on new admissions and market indicators, interest structure rates as well as volume and turnover is available on our website. For information on turnover figures as well as information about Swiss and international bonds traded on SIX Swiss Exchange, please see our report Bonds Quarterly Statistics.

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At the sixth annual Buy-Side Technology Awards, organized by Waters Technology in November 2012, Liquidnet was awarded "Best Buy-Side Execution Venue". This category's award goes to the dark pool/crossing network provider that is best able to provide investment managers access to liquidity.

Continuing internationalization

According to Waters Technology, Liquidnet remains the most important player in the movement of institutional orders, with an average trade size twice as large as its next competitor. The award also acknowledged Liquidnet's global expansion including SLS, its partnership with SIX Swiss Exchange. Launched in July 2011, it was the first time an exchange and a trading network joined forces.

Numerous advantages for participants

The SIX Swiss Exchangee Liquidnet Service (SLS) offers access to a non-displayed liquidity pool where clients benefit from reduced market impact and significant price improvement. All SLS transactions are executed at the mid-price of the real-time bid/ask spread on the primary exchange. In July 2012, six new markets were added to the initial five. September and October were record months in terms of SLS trading volumes of SIX Swiss Exchange participants.

Our website provides detailed information and further publications related to SLS.

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Despite the number of transactions decreasing by -2.7% compared with the previous month, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse registered a slightly higher turnover in November 2012. Across all trading segments, the turnover of CHF 71.3 billion represents an increase of 0.3%. The biggest improvement was recorded in the segment Bonds CHF, up 12.0% over the previous month.

Positive figures for Bonds CHF

Year-on-year, the segment Bonds CHF also shows an increase in turnover - by plus 6.6% to CHF 171'577. However, across all trading segments, turnover is substantially lower than in the corresponding period in 2011 (-23.8%). The same is true for the number of transactions, where the segment Bonds CHF is the only one to post higher figures than in 2011 (+8.4%), while overall 20.9% less transactions were recorded (total: 29'610'769).

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

Detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report. Furthermore, our tool Intraday Activity allows a monitoring of daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse. The methodology behind the calculation for the movements of the four dynamic progress bar pairs for Swiss Blue Chip shares, Swiss Mid & Small Caps shares, ETFs and Structured Products & Warrants is explained in a factsheet.

The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchange can be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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As of 1 December 2012, Urs Widmer is a member of the Executive Board of SIX Swiss Exchange. As the new Chief Operating Officer (COO), he is responsible for the area of Business & Market Development. In this function, he is in charge of Business Engineering, Issuer Relations, Marketing Communications and Member Relations.

Strong customer focus

"SIX Swiss Exchange is the leading exchange when it comes to creating market-oriented framework conditions for listing and trading", commented Urs Widmer. "I'm looking forward to maintaining a close dialogue with both our domestic and foreign customers, as well as realizing practical solutions that fulfil their exact needs."

Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, added: "I'm very glad to welcome Urs Widmer with us. The organizational adjustment will allow us to further increase our business volume as well as our efficiency and profitability. I'd also like to thank Rolf Broekhuizen, who has successfully been leading Business & Market Development ad interim, for his outstanding efforts and achievements."

Successful career in finance

Urs Widmer has a university degree in Business Management and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau. He began his professional career at McKinsey & Company and then changed to UBS, where he was responsible for the Products & Services for Financial Intermediaries area and later the Financial Planning Life Insurance Sales department. Before joining SIX Swiss Exchange, Urs Widmer had been a member of the Executive Board at AXA Winterthur since 2007 and CEO of AXA Bank in Switzerland.

International appeal

SIX Swiss Exchange is the most important independent exchange in Europe and performs four key economic functions: admitting securities, operating the trading platform, monitoring trading activity and distributing market data. Further information about our products and services is available in our brochure.

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Last Monday saw the 25th edition of the ETF/ETP lunch seminars that was held in form of a roundtable at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. The participants Werner Eppacher (DWS), Alex Hinder (Hinder Asset Management), Philipp Ochsner (IndexInvestor) and Marcel Wagner (Credit Suisse) discussed different aspects around the use of ETFs in portfolio management.

During their discussion, the four participants gave detailed insights how ETFs and other passive investment instruments can be used, pointing out their strengths and factors to take into account. Furthermore, they provided an outlook how the ETF market might develop in the next few months and which developments are likely to take place on the product level.

To be continued: 11 dates fixed for 2013

The lively debate generated high interest and was closely followed by the audience, marking a perfect conclusion of the 2012 editions of the ETF/ETP lunch seminars. Due to its great success among professional investors and financial market participants, the series of events - launched in 2011 - will be continued in 2013.

For the upcoming year, 11 dates have been already been chosen. The next ETF/ETP lunch will take place on 28 January 2013 in partnership with ETF Securities. Rima Haddad, Head of Switzerland & Middle East, and Martin Arnold, Senior Research Analyst, will talk about "Commodities - Outlook 2013 and Implementation strategies using ETPs".

Information about other dates and topics will soon be available in our event calendar. To find out more about past events you can visit our News page (see tab "Archive").

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Switzerland offers international and domestic companies attractive locational advantages. SIX Swiss Exchange uses this superb starting position to offer the best possible conditions for successful IPOs to companies of any origin, size or sector that are seeking capital. This is emphasized by Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, in his foreword of the "Switzerland Special" of the GoingPublic Magazin.

Building bridges for new growth

In his article, Christian Katz also points out the four key economic functions performed by SIX Swiss Exchange: admitting securities, operating a trading platform, monitoring trading and distributing market information.

In another article, Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations SIX Swiss Exchange, illustrates why Switzerland is among the world's leading financial centers and is also noted for its innovation, stability and security, as well as its vast asset pool of major Swiss and international investors.

Furthermore, experts from a whole range of sectors reveal in this special issue of the GoingPublic Magazin what makes the openly accessible Swiss financial centre and Swiss stock exchange so attractive for both listed companies and those seeking capital.

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This year's edition, held on 21 November 2012 in Zurich, once again offered interesting presentations on a large scope of topics to around 100 visitors. In the morning, the emphasis was put on regulation, while the afternoon saw the discussion of the future of listed companies and the presentation of current trends. All speeches can be watched as webcasts on our event page.

Representing common interests

The conference was opened by Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange. In his welcome address, he underlined the exchange's aim to link all of its customers to an even stronger network and to join efforts when addressing important challenges.

After Bernhard Schmid, president of the Swiss Society of Investor Relations Agencies (GIRAS), showed the results of a study on the use of social media in the context of investor relations, Ian Cornwall, Head Market Structure SIX Swiss Exchange, and Dr. Sandra Hedinger, Head Public & Regulatory Affairs SIX Management Ltd, shared their expert knowledge on current regulatory initiatives in the EU and in Switzerland and provided a picture of the challenges for the financial market infrastructure.

Presentations and workshops

After a networking lunch, Mark Dittli, editor in chief of Finanz und Wirtschaft, shared his views on shareholding before talking about the future of listed companies. Subsequently, Bill Jenks of Makinson Cowell presented the results from a global study on recent trends in shareholder activism.

The day was completed with four interesting workshops on the following topics: shareholders perspective on executive remuneration, regulatory trends in the field of corporate governance, SIX Swiss Exchange Index Families and the Swiss solution to fulfill CAJWG guidelines.

Successful partnership

Over the years, the Investor Relations Conference has grown to become a popular networking opportunity. SIX Swiss Exchange organized the event at the ConventionPoint together with its partners IR club, Swiss Financial Analysts Association (SFAA) and GIRAS. For further events, please visit our website.

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With the introduction of CONNEXOR® Reporting 3.0, SIX has taken another forward-looking step towards the complete harmonization of post-trading activities at a European level in line with the standards of the Corporate Action Joint Working Group (CAJWG). The aim of this working group is to define standards for the cross-sector and international management of reference data processes for corporate actions. This means market participants can benefit from simplified processes, cost savings and accurate reference data.

New message types

In addition to harmonizing the "Dividend" message types, the new Release contains a total of 17 additional CAJWG-compliant message types related to corporate actions in the areas of "Distribution", "Reorganization" and "Issuer reporting". The event data is sent directly to the SECOM system of SIX SIS Ltd, which then automatically triggers the relevant payment flows. In parallel, the reporting obligations under stock exchange legislation within the context of maintaining listing are sent directly to SIX Exchange Regulation .

Consistent straight-through processing

Since its introduction in 2009, the central CONNEXOR® Reporting platform has standardized and significantly improved administrative processes for issuers in relation to the transmission of financial instrument events and corporate actions. Thanks to the platform's straight-through electronic data processing, the need to enter information several times and manually check event data, two processes that are susceptible to error, has been largely eliminated. In addition, companies or their main paying agents that use CONNEXOR® Reporting have been able to significantly increase the efficiency of their transaction management processes.

Worldwide unique standard for reference data

With CONNEXOR, SIX meets the challenges related to the maintenance, processing and use of reference data during the entire life cycle of a financial instrument and affords all entities involved in the value chain increased efficiency, better quality and higher transparency.

CONNEXOR® comprises a variety of attractive services for issuers, data vendors and reference data users. Information and publications can be found on the CONNEXOR website.

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On 9 November 2012, a total of 25 students from the universities of Lausanne (EPFL), St. Gall (HSG), Winterthur (ZHAW) and Zurich participated in the national qualifying round of the "Traders Trophy Worldwide". During this real-time simulation, Di Chen from the EPFL achieved the best result. Besides receiving a prize money of CHF 1'000, he will get the chance to compete against the best up-and-coming traders from twelve other countries in March 2013.

The exchange: an important pillar of the economy

For the third time in a row, the Swiss exchange acted as host of the "Traders Trophy". Besides supplying the location, SIX Swiss Exchange also offered its broad expert knowledge to the participants. In his welcome speech, Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, pointed out the four economic functions of a regulated securities exchange: establishing and enforcing rules, enabling the raising of capital and securities trading as well as distributing market data.

Subsequently, Rebecca Stasolla, Senior Business Analyst SIX Swiss Exchange, explained the technical details of stock exchange trading, while Guiseppe Bartucca of sponsor Credit Suisse talked about recent developments in the trading landscape.

Realistic simulation of exchange trading

The "Traders Trophy Worldwide" is a project initiated by the Dutch financial service provider Oxyor in 2008. This year, it is held in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, England, Hong Kong, India, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the USA and in Switzerland. More background on the competition is presented in a short film, while the website of the "Traders Trophy" provides further information as well as a demo version of the simulation.

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In October, the International Bonds segment performed particularly well, posting an increase in turnover of 22.1%, while Bonds CHF rose by 3.7% and Equities incl. Funds + ETSFs + ETPs by 0.3%. Overall, turnover in October amounted to CHF 71'017 million, 0.6% down from September 2012.

More trades than in September 2012

However, the number of trades was higher than in September at 2'629'544 (+6.6%). International Bonds also posted the best result in this area, with an increase of 17.4%, followed by CHF Bonds (+10.3%) and Equities incl. Funds + ETSFs + ETPs.

Looking at the period since the start of the year, only the CHF Bonds segment has generated more turnover (+5.5%) and more transactions (+8.9%). Overall, these have decreased by -24.8% and -20.8%, respectively. Detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report.

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

Monitoring daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse is possible with our tool Intraday Activity. A new factsheet describes the methodology behind the calculation for the movements of the four dynamic progress bar pairs for Swiss Blue Chip shares, Swiss Mid & Small Caps shares, ETFs and Structured Products & Warrants.

The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchange can be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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After SIX Swiss Exchange successfully introduced Market Quality Metrics® (MQM) in ETFs and ETPs and so made it possible to check pre-trade data, MQM is now being rolled out for bonds that are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Thanks to MQM in bonds all market participants can now view and analyze the historical availability of quotes (i.e. the highest bid prices/lowest ask prices), the daily average spreads (bid/ask spreads) as well as the average size of offered rates on both sides of the order book.

Valuable tool for analyzing quotes and spreads

These data are freely available from the SIX Swiss Exchange website or all market participants and - in addition to market data and bond details, for example - are shown individually for each bond. Furthermore, the data can be downloaded retrospectively as an Excel file and analyzed.

Ueli Goldener, Head Fixed Income Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "With MQM in bonds, market participants gain a valuable tool that can be used to analyze quotes and spreads together with their availability. In particular, the analysis tool will further benefit order book trading via SIX Swiss Exchange."

Today, over 85% of all CHF bond transactions are already traded via the order books of SIX Swiss Exchange. This is mainly a result of the high availability of market maker quotes, which guarantee that prices can be set continually. The Bonds Quarterly Statistics report contains more information on the performance of the bond segment.

Reliable and neutral information

One of SIX Swiss Exchange's main objectives is to ensure an optimum level of transparency. In addition to Market Quality Metrics, the free-of-charge online tools ELM and Intraday Activity were launched; ELM provides an overview of liquidity levels in the entire investment universe of the SPI®, while Intraday Activity shows the development of intraday turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse.

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At the sixth edition of the Swiss Structured Products Fair, SIX Swiss Exchange presented the advantages of COSI, its globally unique and multiple award-winning collateralization service, to a large audience. During numerous lively discussions, the Swiss exchange could not only underline its engagement to consistently promote and strengthen investor protection, but also highlight its power of innovation in the area of infrastructure services for securities trading.

COSI: The right answer to changed investor needs

The success story of COSI is lasting for three years already, during which 4'500 COSI products have been launched and CHF 2.9 billion of collateral have been provided. At this point, already 20% of all structured investment products traded on Scoach are collateralized with COSI. These numbers demonstrate the growing need of investors for safety. Particularly in times of unstable financial markets, COSI offers additional protection in case of issuer default and therefore strengthens investor confidence in structured products.

Switzerland today, Europe tomorrow

Protecting the invested capital is not reserved to Swiss investors. COSI enjoys a strong demand that reaches beyond the borders of Switzerland: the Swiss-made collateralization service is also available to investors in Germany (currently via secondary listing). Furthermore, the admission of UK-based collateral providers creates additional growth opportunities.

Roundtable on the topic of investor protection

On the second day of the event, Christian Katz, CEO Swiss Exchange, took part in a roundtable on the topic "Investor Protection in Finance". He emphasized the continuous efforts of SIX Swiss Exchange to ensure transparent and well-functioning securities trading, pointing out initiatives such as Quotes Quality Metrics (QQM), Market Quality Metrics (MQM) and COSI: "As a response to the growing need of investors for safety, we have launched COSI. It is the only collateralization service for structured products worldwide that managed to establish itself successfully."

More information about COSI can be found on our website.

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The 24th edition of the ETF/ETP lunch seminars was held last Monday at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Josephine Stempel, Distribution German-speaking regions of Switzerland at iShares, and Stephan Meschenmoser, Portfolio Strategy at BlackRock, spoke to a large number of professional investors and participants of the Swiss financial market on the topic "Vitamins for your fixed income portfolio - yield enhancement with fixed income ETFs by iShares".

In her presentation, Josephine Stempel talked about the potential reasons behind the broad appeal of fixed income ETFs among investors as well as the current trends in this market segment. Furthermore, she discussed the potential benefits that the physical replication of ETFs provides for individual investors.

Following on from this, Stephan Meschenmoser's speech focused on the "vitamins" of a fixed income portfolio. He looked at the historical yields generated by government, corporate, high yield, and emerging market bonds, putting them in the context of recommendations on the current iShares range of fixed income ETFs. iShares currently has 82 ETFs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Roundtable closing the year

The next event takes place on 26 November 2012 in form of a roundtable. The topic of the last ETF/ETF lunch in 2012 is the use of ETFs in portfolio management. The participants are Marcel Wagner, Head Index Selection Mandates at Credit Suisse, Christian Hille, Head Multi-Asset at DWS Investments, Alex Hinder, CEO of Hinder Asset Management as well as Philipp Ochsner, CFO at IndexInvestor AG.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange published the latest Bonds Quarterly Statistics The report shows an increase in turnover of CHF 7.5 billion in the CHF bonds segment in the first 188 trading days of 2012. This represents an increase of 5.6% over the prior-year period (190 trading days). Total turnover was CHF 142.4 billion.

The segment with the highest turnover was "Government" (i.e. governments, local authorities, cantons, etc.) at 36.6%. The second largest sector was "Financials", i.e. Pfandbriefe, Banks (incl. covered bonds) and Insurances with 32.5%. In contrast, the International Bonds segment posted a decline in volume of 28% in the first three quarters of 2012.

Volume and number of trades rising higher

Ueli Goldener, Head of Fixed Income Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "Besides the increase in volume of 5.6% since the beginning of the year, the number of transactions in the CHF bonds segment grew as well, by 8.3% to reach 410'066. In Q3 2012, another increase was recorded in terms of primary-listed CHF bonds, which reached the number of 1'583 at the end of September (end of June 2012: 1'567). Currently the full outstanding amount of CHF bonds listed on SIX Swiss Exchange stands at CHF 557 bn, with CHF 280 bn of foreign issuers and CHF 277 bn of Swiss issuers."

Broad information offering

The report "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" is published quarterly and contains turnover figures as well as information about Swiss and international bonds traded. Previous editions of the "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" are available in our archives. Furthermore, our website provides up-to-date information on new admissions and market indicators, interest structure rates as well as volume and turnover.

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With an opening price of CHF 46.00, trading in the newly listed shares of EFG Financial Products Holding AG (FPHN) started today. In total, 6'666'665 registered shares have been listed, while the market capitalization amounts to CHF 307 million. The company is listed in the Main Standard segment and will be included in the SPI®.

Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations SIX Swiss Exchange, is pleased to welcome EFG Financial Products on the Swiss exchange: "This IPO underlines the leading position of Switzerland in financial services. For companies in the Financials industry in particular, SIX Swiss Exchange offers an ideal environment for raising capital." After DKSH, one of the biggest IPOs globally in 2012, Swiss Finance & Property Investment and Zug Estates, today sees already the fourth new company joining SIX Swiss Exchange in the current year.

EFG Financial Products is an integrated structured investment service provider. Jan Schoch, CEO of EFG Financial Products, comments: "The initial public offering is a reflection of how far the business has come since we commenced operations in 2007. We are excited about the benefits of the IPO in terms of our future development."

Successful COSI pioneer

In 2009, EFG Financial Products was among the first to use COSI, the collateralization service for structured products developed by SIX. The company is currently by far the largest issuer of COSI products in Switzerland, with a part of 82.58% of its structured products portfolio (as of 28.09.2012). For the secondary listing of COSI products in Germany, EFG Financial Products has received a special award at the ZertifikateAwards 2011.

Efficient capital-raising thanks to excellent networking

Global coordinator and bookrunner of the IPO is Credit Suisse, with Bank Vontobel and Crédit Agricole CIB as co-lead managers. Rothschild is acting as independent advisor to EFG Financial Products, while SIX Securities Services administers the share register.

Numerous advantages for equity issuers

An extensive overview of the advantages and helpful information about all relevant topics concerning a listing on SIX Swiss Exchange is provided in the Going Public Guide. Further information about the offering of the Swiss Exchange is available on our website.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange published its latest edition of its ETF Quarterly Statistics. In the third quarter of 2012, the Swiss exchange posted a ETF trading turnover of CHF 19.2 billion, CHF 1.5 bn more than in the previous quarter. Since the start of the year, ETF turnover has amounted to over CHF 57.8 bn. August saw the second highest monthly turnover of the year to date with over CHF 7.4 bn. The number of transactions in the ETF segment increased by 196'828 in the third quarter to a total of 595'598 (ytd). The average trade size was CHF 97'113 which is 1% higher than the previous quarter.

More products, more providers, more market makers

86 new ETFs were listed on SIX Swiss Exchange from July to September 2012. A novelty were the ETFs on MSCI Socially Responsible Indices and Swiss Pfandbriefe launched by UBS ETF for the first time. This means that there are already 880 products in the ETF segment of Swiss exchange as of 30 September 2012 (including 135 in additional trading currencies).

Furthermore, SIX Swiss Exchange welcomed two new issuers in the third quarter, ETF Securities and Source. The number of market makers also increased, with Nomura International Plc and JP Morgan Securities Plc providing new liquidity. In total, ETFs from 18 different providers can be traded, with 22 official market makers providing liquidity.

Highest turnover in Equity Developed Markets again

Equity Developed Markets ETFs achieved a turnover of CHF 7'723 million in the third quarter of 2012 which equates to 40% of the total turnover of the ETF segment. This means that the asset class Commodities & Precious Metals with a turnover of CHF 6'212 million - equating to 32% of the total turnover of the ETF segment - moved back into second place compared to the second quarter of 2012.

CS ETF (CH) on SMI has now held its position as the ETF with the highest turnover for a year. It ended the third quarter of 2012 with a turnover of CHF 1'272 million. Second place for the same period (held by iShares S&P 500 in the previous quarter) went to ZKB Gold ETF with a turnover of CHF 788 million. It has also been among the top ten ETFs traded on the Swiss exchange for more than a year. CS ETF was once again the biggest provider by turnover in the third quarter with 22%, now followed by UBS with 19% and iShares with an 18% share.

Extensive information

The report "ETF Quarterly Statistics" contains the most important facts and market data from the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. Previous editions are available in our archives. The latest market data and up-to-date information on turnover trends and new listings are available on our website. Furthermore, the free tool Market Quality Metrics provided by SIX Swiss Exchange allows to monitor and analyze the spreads.

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On 24 and 25 October 2012, the Swiss Structured Products Fair is being held for the sixth time, at the Kongresshaus Zurich. Once again, SIX Swiss Exchange is one of the exhibitors: Matthias Müller, Head COSI Product Management, will present the benefits of COSI in terms of security, investor protection and needs-led return optimization at booth E11. You will also gain an insight into the COSI collateralization mechanism and can look forward to an exciting competition with some great prizes.

Protection against issuer default

Due to the securing of the structured product with a pledge, COSI means that investors may eliminate the issuer risk as best possible. This multiple award-winning service highlights the commitment of SIX Swiss Exchange to consistently promote and strengthen investor protection. Following CONNEXOR, the Swiss exchange therefore once again proves its innovative strength in the area of infrastructural services for securities trading with COSI.

Roundtable on investor protection

Furthermore, SIX Swiss Exchange is contributing to the attractiveness of the event's program: Christian Katz, CEO Swiss Exchange, will discuss current initiatives and developments in the area of investor protection at the roundtable Client protection in the financial sector: Thursday, 25 October 2012, Kammermusiksaal, 4 pm to 4.50 pm.

More information about COSI can be found on our website.

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More than 160 delegates attended the second annual SIX Swiss Exchange Open Day for Exchange Participants, held on Wednesday, 3 October 2012 in Zurich. The event allows its participants, banks, financial institutes and third party companies to discuss industry issues, sharing knowledge, exchange ideas and shaping the global markets of the future.

Leading speakers with a broad cross-section of financial industry professionals shared their insight on the present financial crisis. SPOT 2012 was opened by Christian A. Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange. In his speech, Christian A. Katz spoke about the challenging environment facing the financial community today, and how SIX Swiss Exchange is positioning itself to address these challenges.

Up-to-date expert knowledge

Also speaking at the SIX Swiss Exchange Open Day was Prof. Dr. Manuel Ammann from the Swiss Institute of Banking and Finance, University of St Gallen who led a fascinating discussion on the subject "Eurozone Rescue: Success or Disaster?". The presentation by Thomas Liebi, CFA, Dr. rer. oec., who is Chief Economist at Swisscanto Asset Management, on the subject "Demographics and the Global Economy - Are the Financial Markets set to Retire?" led to an animated discussion amongst the Open Day delegates.

Closing the event, Chris Landis, Head Operations SIX Swiss Exchange, presented an outlook on "SIX Swiss Exchange in 2013 and Beyond". He focused on the strategic initiatives that will allow SIX Swiss Exchange to become the Independent Investment Network of Choice, such as strengthening partnerships, developing attractive exchange services and continuous improvement of the trading platforms.

At its booth, the experts of SIX Swiss Exchange Providers shared their knowledge, discussing industry issues and exchanging ideas with all delegates. A summary of the SIX Swiss Exchange Open Day 2012 program and the list of exhibiting companies is available in the handout of the event.

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In September, both turnover and number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse have increased slightly. Detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report.

Compared to the previous month, turnover especially rose in the segment Equities (incl. Funds, ETSFs and ETPs): with CHF 48'659 million it was almost 18% higher than in August. Despite declines in other segments, overall turnover reached CHF 71'300 million in September, 3.2% higher than in the previous month.

Concerning the number of trades, the biggest jump was recorded in the ETF segment. With 74'062 transactions in September it recorded an increase of almost 16% versus the previous month. Higher trading activity was also seen in the segments for Equities (+ 1.4%) as well as for Structured Products & Warrants (+4.2%). Overall, the number of transactions reached 2'466'872, rising 1.7% higher than in August.

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

Monitoring daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse is possible with our tool Intraday Activity. The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchangecan be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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The Swiss Medtech Report 2012 focuses on the Swiss medical technology industry along its highly aligned value chain: from invention to product development, manufacturing, marketing and market access, to regulation and last but not least funding & financing.

As in previous years, SIX Swiss Exchange contributed to the report. Together with Ernst &Young SIX Swiss Exchange focuses on the funding and financing landscape in the industry in the report. The article highlights the respective financing stages along the business development life cycle.

Funding and financing

Switzerland has one of the highest concentrations of medtech companies in the world. Medtech industries in Germany, the UK, the US and even Europe as a whole still fall second to the Swiss medtech industry's employment percentage, medtech exports, and percent contribution to GDP. With continued growth in the sector, the Swiss medtech industry is expected to maintain its reputation as a global hotspot for medtech production and innovation.

SIX Swiss Exchange - Focus on Medtech

At SIX Swiss Exchange, medtech companies benefit from outstanding visibility among investors, the media and analysts specializing in this sector with extensive expertise.

With its Going Public Guide, SIX Swiss Exchange offers issuers a practical publication containing all the information they need to know about a listing. Further information for equity issuers is available on our website.

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With Source, SIX Swiss Exchange is welcoming another new issuer in its segment for Exchange Traded Funds. The British ETF provider has launched 14 new products and thereby provides an even greater range. Currently, SIX Swiss Exchange offers investors a choice of 880 ETFs.

Ted Hood, CEO of Source, explains: "Source is delighted to announce the listing of our first ETFs in Switzerland. These include major equity benchmarks such as the S&P 500, MSCI EM and MSCI USA, the nine S&P US Select Sectors and some of Source's market leading volatility products, developed in conjunction with Nomura and J.P. Morgan." Flow Traders B.V., J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd., Nomura International plc und Virtu Financial Ireland Ltd. act as the market makers for the 14 new ETFs of Source.

Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We are very pleased to welcome Source as a new ETF issuer. Their specialist products will enable the selection offered at SIX Swiss Exchange to provide even better coverage for the diverse needs of investors."

Source was founded in 2009 and with assets under management of over USD 11 billion is one of Europe's leading ETF providers. Source has been present in the segment for Exchange Traded Products at SIX Swiss Exchange since November 2010, currently with 16 ETPs.

SIX Swiss Exchange was one of the first European stock exchanges to open an ETF segment in the fall of 2000 and has recorded strong growth for over eleven years. You will find detailed figures on our website and in the ETF Quarterly Statistics.

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Today, ETF Securities is entering the Swiss market as a new provider with eight products for which Susquehanna will act as market maker. This entails a growth to 18 ETF issuers at SIX Swiss Exchange. The range of products now comprises a record number of 880 ETFs.

Rima Haddad, Head of Switzerland & Middle East at ETF Securities, comments "We are seeing a lot of interest and demand from Swiss investors in our products and are pleased to now be able to offer a range of investment solutions based on commodities and commodity related equities on the local exchange." In an interview, Rima Haddad introduces ETF Securities and presents the eight Exchange Traded Funds newly-listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We welcome ETF Securities as a new ETF issuer at SIX Swiss Exchange. We look forward to innovative products for which the Swiss financial center will offer an attractive sales market and the Swiss stock exchange a transparent and efficient trading center."

SIX Swiss Exchange one of the first European stock exchanges to open an ETF segment in the fall of 2000 and has recorded strong growth for over eleven years. You will find detailed figures on our website and in the ETF Quarterly Statistics.

ETF Securities was founded in 2003 and gained international renown in the same year with the first listed physical gold ETP. Today ETF Securities is one of the leading European providers in the area of exchange-traded products (ETPs), i.e. collateralized bearer debt securities replicating an underlying instrument. Since 2008 the London-based company has also been floating ETFs.

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As the newest statistical monthly report shows, turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse has risen slightly compared to the previous month. With CHF 69'087 million across all trading segments in August 2012, it was 0.2% higher than in July 2012. The biggest jump was recorded in the ETF segment, with turnover rising by 48.4%, followed by structured products & warrants with 33.2% and CHF bonds with 14.1%.

Since the beginning of the year however, only the segment CHF bonds recorded a higher turnover compared the same period in 2011: it increased by 9.4% to CHF 129'203 million (overall: CHF 618'360 million). The same applies to the number of transactions, where an increase of 8.9% for CHF bonds amounts to a total of 369'619 rades. In total, 21'954'192 transactions have been executed since the beginning of 2012.

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

Monitoring daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse is possible with our tool Intraday Activity. The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchangecan be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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On Wednesday 3 October, the SPOT - SIX Swiss Exchange Open Day 2012 will take place in the ConventionPoint in Zurich. The 2nd annual Open Day for Exchange members and for the extended financial community provides a unique opportunity to meet with thought leaders from the financial industry, to network with your peers from other institutions, and to meet a wide range of independent providers of software, services and connectivity relevant to the exchange business.

Broad range of discussion topics from first-rate speakers

A number of third party companies with close relationships with SIX Swiss Exchange will exhibit at the Open Day, showcasing the solutions, services and products that they offer. With prestigious guest speakers sharing their views on highly topical issues, this year's Open Day will have something of interest for all finance professionals. The cast of speakers includes Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, Prof. Dr. Manuel Ammann from the University of St Gallen, Thomas Liebi of Swisscanto Asset Management and Chris Landis, Head Operations SIX Swiss Exchange.

To find out more about the program or the exhibitors, and to register for the event, please visit our event page or send an e-mail to . Closing date for registration is Thursday 27 September 2012. The event will be held in English.

Shaping tomorrow's markets

SIX Swiss Exchange successfully launched the first SPOT Open Day in 2011. By hosting numerous information and networking events, we aim to connect exchange participants, banks, financial institutions and third party companies, as well as providing valuable platforms for discussing industry issues, sharing knowledge, exchanging ideas and actively shaping the global markets of the future.

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With numerous renowned representatives from the areas of finance, economy and regulation, the NZZ Capital Market Forum proved extremely appealing. Prestigious speakers and current topics contributed to a successful premiere of the event that took place on 3 and 4 September in the Kongresshaus in Zurich.

Experts of SIX Swiss Exchange share their knowledge

The forum was opened by Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange. In his speech he pointed out the loss of confidence that the finance industry is facing since the start of the crisis, as well as the gap that opened "between Wall Street and Main Street". He advocated the use of the forum to rebuild the bridge between finance and economy. By connecting companies and investors, he noted, the exchange is indeed also contributing to this effort.

Christian Katz - as well as Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations SIX Swiss Exchange - also took part in a workshop that was attended by a large audience. Furthermore, Peter Gomez, Chairman of the board of directors SIX Group, took part in a debate about the repositioning of the Swiss financial center. In an interview (in German), he pleaded for close collaboration between politics, industry and regulation.

SIX Swiss Exchange acted as Local Host of this new conference and informed attendees at its booth about its products and services for issuers and trading participants. To view further images and presentations, please visit the download section on the website of the event.

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To promote SIX Swiss Exchange as the listing venue of choice for Indian corporates, the exchange has chosen T&A Consulting Pvt Ltd as its official representative in the Indian market. T&A Consulting will increase outreach and develop India's links with the international investor community via SIX Swiss Exchange. It is also part of the Pool of Experts of Osec, the competence centre for Swiss foreign trade promotion.

Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "The Swiss financial marketplace enjoys outstanding status around the world. We have a well-funded base of investors, and because we are self-regulating we can offer a market-oriented environment." Gaining a local partner in India supports the internationalization of SIX Swiss Exchange. As part of its efforts to implement this strategy, SIX Swiss Exchange recently also launched a dedicated webpage in Russian for corporates from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

An ideal listing venue for international companies

SIX Swiss Exchange connects companies from around the world with an international investor base. In addition to operating the world's fastest trading platform, SIX Swiss Exchange facilitates the listing of a broad range of securities, including shares, bonds and global depositary receipts (GDRs). The inclusion into the main (benchmark) indices leads to high liquidity and increases visibility among financially potent international investors.

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Along the lines of "Information is key" a demanding economic environment asks for thorough and professional advice in matters of investing. The Exchange Traded Product Day dedicates itself to ongoing investment topics within the world of exchange traded funds (ETFs) and structured products.

Profit from the expert knowledge of our speakers

This year's program features a top-class roundtable with representatives from Amundi, Bank Vontobel, iShares and Picard Angst focusing on hot topics about financial products - moderated by Olivier Toublan, editor in chief of PME Magazine. Don't miss our keynote speaker, Richard Baldwin, professor of International Economics on world economy. Furthermore, various presentations offer the possibility to gather knowledge on ETFs and structured products. Ask your questions to our specialist at the ETPD in Geneva.

The ETPD website offers further information about the program and our speakers as well as the possibility to register. Please note that the number of participants is limited.

The Exchange Traded Product Days (ETPDs) are organized since 2008 by SIX Swiss Exchange in conjunction with Scoach Switzerland. They offer professional investors a platform for gaining the latest information on product innovations and investment themes. The ETPD 2012 in Zurich took place an 12 April, with more than 300 participants following the event. Find out more about previous editions in our presentation archive.

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As a neutral pillar of the Swiss financial center, SIX Swiss Exchange uses its position to provide relevant specialist knowledge, engaging in an open dialogue to shape the financial markets of tomorrow. In the edition no. 40 of B2B, the Swiss magazine for collective and structured investment, two representatives of SIX Swiss Exchange make their know how available.

ETF forum: "To be continued"

Alain Picard, Head Product Management, takes part in a panel discussion (in German) on Exchange Traded Funds. Along with further experts Roger Bootz (UBS), Andrea Bornaghi (Credit Suisse), Stephan Müller (Swiss & Global Asset Management) and Beat Rüegg (ZKB), he discusses the future role and importance of ETFs as well as the development of the industry in the face of new regulatory challenges. SIX Swiss Exchange offers investors one of the biggest choices of ETFs, with currently more than 850 products. Get an overview on our website.

Internationalisation of SLS

The market extension of SLS is also covered in this edition of B2B. In his article (in German), Kevin Schmid, Equity Product Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange, explains the advantages of the unique SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service, such as the high average execution size or the significant price improvements.

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Two employees of Credit Suisse, Dr. Daniel Niedermayer (portfolio manager in the area of convertible bonds) and Marcel Wagner (portfolio manager in Asset Management and Head of Index Selection Mandates) have jointly published "The ETF Practice Book". In an interview, Marcel Wagner explains which knowledge gaps he aims to close with this book. He also points out why private investors who are trading ETFs should keep an eye on the spreads. Those can be compared on the product level thanks to the tool Market Quality Metrics (MQM) on the website of SIX Swiss Exchange.

The book offers a closer look on the fundamentals of Exchange Traded Funds, the underlying indices and the different markets they are replicating. Furthermore, it explains various investment strategies and how to implement them. The book is rounded off with several useful hints and interesting interviews with key players of the Swiss ETF market. Written by practitioners for practitioners, the book is aimed at interested private investors, client advisors, students or journalists. The book is available in German only and can be ordered via internet.

Contributing to knowledge transfer

Over the years, SIX Swiss Exchange has launched several initiatives aimed at promoting a better understanding of ETFs. The Exchange Traded Product Day event series has enjoyed uninterrupted popularity to this very day. Knowledge transfer is also the goal of the ETF Lunch Seminars that SIX Swiss Exchange, in collaboration with issuers, started conducting for professional investors in January 2011

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The demand for bonds has increased considerably since the start of the financial crisis. As a result, this asset class is currently the fastest growing sector in the ETF segment. In the course of the fiscal measures, the return on government bonds decreased, presenting investors with new challenges. To open up new sources of income and diversification, investors are increasingly making investment decisions based on the issuer, sector, region, currency and credit rating. As Dr. Christian Gast from iShares points out in his guest contribution, the high yield sector particularly benefits from this trend.

Attractive ETF range for SIX Swiss Exchange

As an ETF issuer of the first hour, iShares - which belongs to investment manager BlackRock - listed its first products on the Swiss exchange in 2001. With the addition of seven new ETFs listed on 15 August, the product range offered by iShares currently includes 82 products. Susquehanna carries out the market making for iShares ETFs and therefore provides liquidity in 252 products. The ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange now comprises a record amount of 857 ETFs.

SIX Swiss Exchange always strives to increase its appeal as a trading venue for new providers and products so that both institutional and private investors can cover their investment needs in the best possible way. Our website provides an overview of all the new products on SIX Swiss Exchange.

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On 3 and 4 September 2012, the NZZ Capital Market Forum will be held for the first time. SIX Swiss Exchange acts as Local Host of this new conference with an international impact. At our booth, we will inform attendees about our products and services for issuers and trading participants. Furthermore, important representatives of SIX Swiss Exchange will share their expert knowledge with the audience.

Workshop on "Going & Being Public"

At the start of the two-day event, Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, holds the opening speech. Later on during the first day of the conference, he participates in one of the several workshops, where solutions to current strategic challenges will be developed. Together with Marco Illy of Credit Suisse, Stephan Frischknecht of Schroders and representatives of two companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, Christian Katz will discuss the topic "Bank lending and capital markets - both on retreat?".

In addition, Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations SIX Swiss Exchange, will conduct a workshop on the topic of "Going & Being Public". Its focal points are "IPO Readiness - Preparation and Prerequisites", "Going Public the Swiss Way", "IPO Process - Challenges and Best Practices" and "Post-IPO - Disclosure Obligations and Other Requirements".

Valuable networking platforms

With the organization and the participation in numerous events, SIX Swiss Exchange encourages ongoing dialogue between relevant stakeholders. By actively bringing companies and investors together, we underline our goal to become the independent investment network of choice for our international client base.

On the website of the event you can find further information and register.

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In July 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange recorded an increase in the number of transactions compared to the previous month, as the newest statistical monthly report shows. An important growth driver was the segment equities including funds, ETSFs and ETPs, where the number or trades rose by 2.8% to a total of 2'594'528 (June 2012: 2'523'341). Across all segments of the Swiss exchange and Scoach, 2'777'093 transactions correspond to an increase of 2.3%.

Turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse reached CHF 68'876 million in July 2012. Structured products and warrants was the only segment to surpass the result of the previous month, with turnover rising by 10.4% to CHF 2'697 million.

Larger choice of tradable securities

Compared to the previous month, July 2012 saw raising numbers of newly listed products. While the increase in the segment for CHF bonds amounted to 9.7% (34 new products), the segment for structured products and warrants even grew by 14.9% (4'272 new products). A particular increase in the choice of products could be observed in the ETF segment, with a total of 56 new Exchange Traded Funds of UBS. Furthermore, July 2nd saw the listing of Zug Estates Holding AG, already the third successful IPO on SIX Swiss Exchange in the current year.

Turnover, volumes and order book quality at a glance

Monitoring daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse is possible with our tool Intraday Activity. The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchangecan be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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On 23 April 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange introduced X-stream INET, the world's most advanced trading technology for equities. After the successful launch, the SWXess trading platform has now been running smoothly for a 100 days and the announced average roundtrip latency of just 37 microseconds has been confirmed under production load.

Rolf Broekhuizen, Head Business & Market Development, adds: "Our measurements on production have shown that even two thirds of all transactions are executed in less than 37 microseconds, making SIX Swiss Exchange the world's fastest exchange". For information about the latency calculation please consult the Performance Measurement Details.

State-of-the-art trading technology

SIX Swiss Exchange is the first exchange in the world to implement X-stream INET by Nasdaq OMX. To achieve such outstanding latency figures, SIX Swiss Exchange also introduced a co-location service and standardized low-latency interfaces for trading (OUCH) and market data dissemination (ITCH). In the future, SIX Swiss Exchange will extend the benefits of X-stream INET to its other attractive trading segments.

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With the internationalisation of SLS, six new markets have been added: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Portugal and Sweden. Clients of SLS can now trade in eleven markets with over 4'200 equities from the bluechip, small and mid-cap segments. Previously, SLS already provided access to all shares listed on SIX Swiss Exchange as well as those from Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK.

With the market extension of SLS, SIX Swiss Exchange is creating a stronger link between its members and the globally active investor community and offers them access to institutional liquidity that is not exposed to any other trading venue. John White, Head Equity Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, explains: "An increasing number of our clients are adding SLS to their execution strategies. Their clients, in turn, value the material difference which SLS can make to the implementation cost of their trades."

Numerous advantages for clients

Trades via the non-displayed liquidity pool SLS offer significant price improvements, because they are based on the mid-price of the real-time bid/ask spread of the relevant primary exchange. Clients also benefit from no market impact, while higher average execution sizes considerably reduce operational costs. Clients can use SLS via the existing infrastructure.

Between the launch of SLS in July 2011 and the end of May 2012, total turnover was EUR 1'282 million. The average daily liquidity of all SLS markets in the first half of 2012 stood at CHF 10.74 billion. Our website provides detailed information and further publications related to SLS.

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Authors Sylvain Rossier and Aman Kamel, both Fund Managers at BCGE, the cantonal bank of Geneva, describe in their article the importance of choosing the right index. In particular, they show how fundamental indices aim to reflect the economic value of companies.

To do so, different criteria can be applied at the same time, such as revenue, cash flow, dividends and book value of the companies in question. If only one of these metrics would be used distortions could arise, according to the authors. Please read the full guest article.

BCGE is the market leader in the Geneva region, providing a wide range of banking services to private, corporate, and institutional clients.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange published the latest "Bonds Quarterly Statistics". The report shows an increase in turnover of CHF 13.1 billion in the CHF bonds segment in the first 125 trading days. This represents an increase of 15.4% over the prior-year period (124 trading days). Total turnover was CHF 98.0 billion. The segment with the highest turnover was "Government" (i.e. governments, local authorities, cantons, etc.) at 37.0% (with Switzerland accounting for 32.2% and other countries for 4.8%). The second largest sector was "Financials", i.e. Pfandbriefe, Banks (incl. covered bonds) and Insurances. In contrast, the International Bonds segment posted a decline in volume of 18% in Q2 2012.

Increase in number of trades

Ueli Goldener, Head of Fixed Income Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "SIX Swiss Exchange also saw an increase in the number of trades in CHF bonds, up by 10.2% to 277'982. There was also an increase in the number of primary-listed CHF bonds in the 2nd quarter of 2012: as at the end of June, there were 1,567 (Q1 2012: 1'1'554)."

Broad information offering

The report "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" is published quarterly and contains turnover figures as well as information about Swiss and international bonds traded. Up-to-date information on new admissions and market indicators, interest structure rates as well as volume and turnover is available on our website. Previous editions of the "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" are available in our archives.

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SIX Swiss Exchange published the latest edition of its ETF Quarterly Statistics today. The report contains key facts and market data for the ETF segment. In the second quarter of 2012, the Swiss exchange posted ETF trading turnover of CHF 17.7 billion, while the average trade size increased by 1.5% to CHF 96'936. As of 30 June 2012, 398'770 ETF transactions were executed (Q1: 219'944).

Growing selection of ETFs

A total of 14 new ETFs were listed on SIX Swiss Exchange in the second quarter of 2012: two Ossiam ETFs based on the minimum variance concept, two from HSBC and three from UBS on the MSCI, three ETFs from Lyxor and one from Amundi that track the EuroMTS Index, as well as three iShares ETFs on the DAX and German government bonds. At the end of June 2012, therefore, 794 ETFs were listed on SIX Swiss Exchange (including 108 in additional trading currencies) from 16 different providers, with 20 official market makers ensuring liquidity.

Highest turnover in Commodities & Precious Metals

As in the first quarter of the year, five of the top ten ETFs on the Swiss exchange by turnover in the second quarter invested in the precious metal gold, followed by four ETFs in the Equity Developed Markets asset class and one in the Equity Emerging Markets asset class. Overall, Commodities & Precious Metals ETFs achieved turnover of CHF 7'133 million during the quarter, which equates to 40% of the ETFs segment's total turnover. These turnover figures are almost in line with the Equity Developed Markets asset class, which posted trading turnover of CHF 6'338 million or 36% of the segment's total.

The ETF with the highest turnover is CS ETF (CH) on SMI for the third quarter in succession with trading turnover of CHF 1'013 million in the second quarter of 2012. Second place was taken by iShares S&P 500 with trading turnover of CHF 829 million. The latter has been among the top ten ETFs traded on the Swiss exchange for more than a year. New entries into the top ten are the two iShares ETFs MSCI North America and MSCI World. CS ETF was once again the biggest provider by turnover in the second quarter with a 22% share, followed by iShares (20%) and UBS (17%).

Previous editions of the "ETF Quarterly Statistics" are available in our archives. The latest market data and up-to-date information on turnover trends and new listings are available on our website.

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Today, 45 new UBS products were listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. These new ETFs replicate eight different MSCI indices with regional and thematic focuses, the Global Rare Earth Index from STOXX as well as US bond indices from Barclays and German bond indices from Markit iBoxx. This means investors benefit from a wider range of ETFs and even more diverse investment opportunities. On 20 August, UBS will provide information on the topic of "Investing in Switzerland with ETFs" at SIX Swiss Exchange's ETF/ETP Lunch.

Overall, 839 products are now available on SIX Swiss Exchange, offering both institutional and private investors great flexibility to implement their investment strategies. On overview of all newly listed products is available on our website.

Enormous Experience in ETFs

SIX Swiss Exchange was one of the first European stock exchanges to open an ETF segment back in 2000. Since then we have steadily increased our appeal by building up our position as one of the leading ETF markets in Europe with one of the best possible trading frameworks.

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On 4 and 5 July 2012, the second edition of TradeTech DACH was held in Frankfurt. SIX Swiss Exchange was present with a stand and a four-person delegation comprising Alain Picard, Head Product Management, Gregor Braun, Head Member Acquisition, John White, Head Equity Product Management and Kevin Schmid, Equity Product Management.

Current topics

In addition to presentations about current topics such as MiFID II, fragmented markets, dark pools, best execution and asset management, podium discussions with experts from various areas of the financial world were held. John White, Head Equity Product Management, represented the position of SIX Swiss Exchange in the podium on the topic of "Evolving market structure and fragmented liquidity: finding liquidity in fragmented markets to ensure you can execute in good time at a good price!"

The representatives of SIX Swiss Exchange used the opportunity of TradeTech DACH to engage in interesting dialogue with other participants, exchanging experiences and addressing open questions and to make new contacts. On our website you can see further events SIX Swiss Exchange is organizing or attending.

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The newest statistical monthly report shows that in June 2012, turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse increased by 5.1% compared to the previous month, reaching CHF 79'352 million. With a growth of 22.5%, the segment Bonds CHF posted the biggest increase, followed by structured products & warrants (+12.1%).

Concerning the number of transactions, the segment Bonds CHF also posted double-digit growth in June 2012 (+14.4%). The ETF segment also recorded more trades (+2.1%), while the overall number of transactions fell by almost 8% compared to May 2012.

Trading turnover and liquidity levels at a glance

Monitoring daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse is possible with the recently launched tool Intraday Activity. It covers all trading segments, with a particular focus on Swiss Blue Chip shares, Swiss Mid & Small Caps shares, ETFs and structured products & warrants.

The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchange can be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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From 26 to 28 June 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange was present with a stand at the Fund Forum Monaco and provided information on the ETF segment and SLS, the SIX Swiss Exchange  Liquidnet Service. "Visitors were really interested in our services," commented Danielle Mair, of ETF and ETP Product Management. "We were able to make a great many new business contacts and also meet up with existing contacts, as some of our customers also had stands at the conference."

The conference program, which featured more than 100 speakers, focused on exchanging information and ideas about product innovation, dealing with a constantly changing regulatory environment and new sales measures, with a regional focus on the US and emerging markets. Further information is available on the website of the Fund Forum.

Continually growing ETF segment

In 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange's ETF segment posted revenues of CHF 101.9 billion, which is a 42% year-on-year increase. Since the start of the year, 37 new ETFs have been listed on the Swiss exchange, meaning that there are currently 794 products in the ETF segment.

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The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) has appointed Ian Cornwall, Head Market Structure SIX Swiss Exchange, as the new Chair of its Management Committee. The approval was given by the General Assembly which met during the FESE Convention 2012 held in Istanbul on 21 and 22 June 2012.

Ian Cornwall commented: "It is a privilege to be elected Chair of the FESE Management Committee and to work with and represent the views of the Members in the work of the Federation. I aim to maintain and build upon the constructive and open dialogue already evident between members. This will enable us to continue to provide informed, effective and practical contributions which help shape policy solutions and which also promote recognition of the valuable contribution exchanges make to issuers, investors and to the economy in which they operate".

Shaping the markets

FESE represents 46 securities exchanges (in equities, bonds, and derivatives) through 21 Full Members - including SIX Swiss Exchange - from 30 countries as well as 4 Observer Members from European emerging markets. FESE members have over 9'000 companies listed on their markets.

Through membership of key international bodies such as FESE, SIX Swiss Exchange is able to actively participate in shaping the global financial markets of the future in the interests of its customers and all market actors. Find out more about our network.

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The third issue of SLS Highlights was published today. This report is published on a regular basis and contains detailed statistics on turnover and traded blocks of shares in SLS, the SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service. The unique non-displayed liquidity pool was introduced in July 2011. Since then, total turnover has risen to EUR 1'282 million as at the end of May.

The average trade size has also increased significantly, from EUR 337'394 in the last report (period: July 2011 to end-January 2012) to EUR 412'061 for the period from January to the end of May 2012. This figure is significantly higher than for other dark MTFs.

New markets and more information

SIX Swiss Exchange is set to make its globally unique service more international by expanding the SLS market to new countries. In addition, SIX Swiss Exchange launched the SLS Daily Execution Report in May 2012 in cooperation with Liquidnet. It provides an overview of the activities for the prior day for each market and equity.

Globally unique benefits

SLS enables clients to efficiently localize and consolidate block liquidity (measured by consideration and/or ADV for the stock being traded). All transactions executed in SLS are based on the mid-price of the real-time bid/ask spread on the primary exchange. This represents a significant price improvement and reduced market impact for participants when compared to trading on the primary markets.

Would you like to know more about SLS? Our website contains more information on this exclusive non-displayed liquidity pool.

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In order to cater to the needs of its potential clients, SIX Swiss Exchange has created a dedicated webpage for corporates from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The new section in Russian aims to promote SIX Swiss Exchange as the listing venue of choice for Russian companies looking to access the European investor community.

Perfect symbiosis

Konstantin Dombrowski, Senior Relationship Manager SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "With this new page we are demonstrating our strong customer focus and setting the basis for a perfect symbiosis. Switzerland offers Russian companies great know-how and experience, for example in the refinement of raw materials. The commodities trading is a another business field, where the links between Switzerland and Russia are already very strong."

An ideal listing location

Russia is the world's leading producer of oil and gas. As three-quarters of these commodities are traded via Geneva today, Russian companies already have certain structures in place in Switzerland. SIX Swiss Exchange is an ideal listing location for these companies, offering a well-funded base of investors and a market-oriented environment due to self-regulation.

Furthermore, newly listed companies benefit immediately from great liquidity and increased visibility, because they are accepted into the SPI on their second day of trading, regardless of where they are domiciled.

Three IPOs already

In 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange could already welcome three new companies, amongst which DKSH was the second biggest IPO in Europe so far. Our website provides further information for issuers. The process and the advantages of a listing on SIX Swiss Exchange are also described in the Going Public Guide.

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SIX Swiss Exchange is happy to welcome Zug Estates Holding AG (ZUGN) today. It is already the third new company joining in 2012. A total of 315'136 registered shares were listed under the regulatory standard for real estate companies. Trading of the new shares opened at CHF 1'191, which corresponds to a free float market capitalization of the registered shares of CHF 375 million. The company has been incorporated into the SPI and the SXI Real Estate indices.

Bank Vontobel Ltd acted as Zug Estates' listing agent during the IPO. The first two new companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange in 2012, the trading group DKSH and Swiss Finance & Property Investment, had their IPOs in March and April, respectively.

"The second listing of a real estate company on SIX Swiss Exchange this year highlights two things: how attractive this sector is in the current market environment and the advantages of a listing with us, which can increase the visibility and liquidity of a company thanks to its incorporation in our real estate index family", explained Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations at SIX Swiss Exchange.

Separation of business areas

The newly listed company was previously the real estate-focused business area of the Metall Zug Ltd (METN) holding company. The separation of the business area and its direct listing as Zug Estates had been decided at the AGM held on 22 June 2012.

According to Zug Estates, CHF 75-100 million will be invested in 2012 and the real estate portfolio will continue to be expanded. This spin-off and separate listing should enable both business areas to more clearly position their respective business models for investors.

Numerous advantages for issuers

A listing on SIX Swiss Exchange offers companies access to a financially potent international circle of investors. Furthermore, the exchange supports its issuers with first-class client-focused services.

An extensive overview and helpful information about all relevant topics concerning a listing on SIX Swiss Exchange is provided in the Going Public Guide. Further information about the offering of the Swiss Exchange is available on our website.

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The ever popular SIX Swiss Exchange Bond Party was held on 21 June 2012 in the Restaurant uniTurm. Once again, guests had the ideal opportunity to network and to catch up with familiar faces. Ueli Goldener, Head Product Management Fixed Income SIX Swiss Exchange, thanked the issuers, lead managers, market makers and investors present for their support for the Swiss exchange.

Bond segment continues to grow

The following figures demonstrate just how proud the Swiss bond community can be of its achievements: 1'562 bonds denominated in Swiss francs are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange with an outstanding nominal amount of in excess of CHF 549 billion. Turnover in these bonds on SIX Swiss Exchange grew by a very gratifying 8% in 2011. Moreover, this trend also continued during the first hundred trading days of 2012, with an increase of even 16%. Extensive data is available on our website and in the Bonds Quarterly Statistics.

For many guests, it was the first time they had had a chance to enjoy the panoramic view from Zurich University tower. Indeed, the tower proved to be the ideal setting, both for talking shop and for simply relaxing and enjoying one another's company. High above the Zurich rooftops, the more than 100 guests savored fine cuisine and excellent wines, with a DJ on hand to provide musical entertainment. Meanwhile, the thrilling soccer match to contest the quarterfinal of Euro 2012 proved to be another highlight of the evening, as was a dramatic thunderstorm, which the guests were able to experience from the perfect vantage point.

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Severals ways lead to the ongoing tradability of ETFs. For investors, it's the costs that matter. A key role is played by the spreads, as Alain Picard, Head Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, explains in his guest article (German) in the Magazine ROI of Finanz und Wirtschaft (Edition No 2, 2012), because they are additional implicit costs to the explicit costs such as brokerage and other fees.

As the wide variety of different liquidity criteria is often difficult to assess for investors, Alain Picard gives a detailed explanation which criteria are defining the bid and ask quotes. Furthermore, he points out the advantages of Market Quality Metrics. MQM is a free tool provided by SIX Swiss Exchange that allows investors to monitor and analyze the spreads.

Wide Range of ETFs

SIX Swiss Exchange was one of the first trading venues for ETFs in Europe. We now offer investors a broad selection of products and the best possible trading conditions to implement their investment strategy. Our website provides more information on the ETF segment.

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The 8th SIX Swiss Exchange Bond Event took place on 13 June 2012 at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. At this already traditional gathering, market participants discuss central topics of the fixed income universe. Opening the event, Ueli Goldener, Head Fixed Income Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, welcomed over 70 participants and gave a brief review of the fixed income segment at SIX Swiss Exchange.

Turnover continues to rise

During the first 100 trading days of 2012, turnover in the 1'562 bonds denominated in Swiss francs posted a very positive development, increasing by 16%. Overall, 14 market makers set bid and offer prices for the more than 5'000 bonds traded on SIX Swiss Exchange. Extensive data is available on our website and in the Bonds Quarterly Statistics.

Specialist topics for specialist audience

Both Swiss banks such as Credit Suisse and foreign banks such as Barclays, BNP Paribas and UniCredit Bank provided speakers for the event. Institutional investors such as PIMCO and BlackRock and the index provider STOXX completed the high-profile cast.

Practice-oriented topics were the main focus of the event: besides the Swiss Bond Index and challenges for European banks, the presentations dealt with investment opportunities in emerging market bonds and risk factors for the asset allocation. Further topics were returns on corporate bonds, investments in a persistently low interest rate environment and the management of the crisis in Europe.

Full program of events

Every SIX Swiss Exchange Bond Event offers participants a perfect networking opportunity in the Swiss fixed income universe and an ideal platform to exchange views and ideas. Our website provides an overview of upcoming events.

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COSI continues its success story. Today, Bank Sarasin becomes already the sixth provider of structured products using the innovative service for collateralization by SIX Swiss Exchange. Collateral Secured Instruments offer investors a maximized protection from issuer-related risks.

Matthias Müller, COSI Product Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We're pleased to welcome Bank Sarasin as new COSI issuer on Scoach Switzerland. Already one out of five investment products traded on Scoach feature a COSI protection. This segment is very likely to continue its rapid growth."

Since the launch in September 2009, already more than 3'700 COSI products in ten different trading currencies and with over 1'000 different underlying assets have been issued. The internationalization of the COSI segment creates additional growth opportunities around the unique service for the collateralization of structured products.

Protection against issuer default

During phases of uncertainty on the financial markets, investor demand for security increases. With its unique collateralization model involving SIX Securities Services and Eurex Zurich, SIX Swiss Exchange offers issuers an ideal solution to cater to the security needs of investors.

Besides Bank Sarasin, COSI products are issued by EFG Financial Products, Bank Vontobel, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Julius Bär The products are traded on Scoach, the European trading platform for structured products operated by SIX and Deutsche Börse.

More information about COSI can be found on our website.

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For the first time, the Swiss newspaper "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" will organize the NZZ Capital Market Forum. The two-day event conference with an international impact will focus on presentations by top speakers on economic developments, the challenges of the international capital markets and the Swiss financial centre.

The independent forum for first-hand insights into capital markets will take place on 3 and 4 September 2012 in the Kongresshaus in Zurich. Business challenges facing public companies in the global environment will be identified and placed within their competitive context by corporate leaders based on their first-hand experience.

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SIX Swiss Exchange is the best venue to trade Swiss securities with a wide range of attractive segments ranging from equities, bonds, Exchange Traded Funds, Exchange Traded Structured Funds, Exchange Traded Products, traditional investment funds, through to structured products (via Scoach Switzerland).

At the Capital Market Forum, we will be present with a booth and organize a workshop on the topic of "going & being public". Visit us and take the chance to benefit from the expert knowledge of our specialists.

On the website of the event you can find further information and register. Profit from an early-bird discount by booking until July, 15 2012.

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In May 2012, the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse has risen sharply. Detailed figures are available in the statistical monthly report published today. With an increase of 11.9% over the previous month and a total of 2'947'101 transactions, trading activity in the month of May has been the strongest so far in 2012. All trading segments of SIX Swiss Exchange posted a double-digit growth of the number of trades, from +11.3% (Bonds CHF) up to +24.9% (International bonds).

In the past month, SIX Swiss Exchange also recorded a higher turnover of +4.0% compared to April 2012, culminating at CHF 75'520 million. The most significant contribution came from the ETF segment with an increase of 28.8%.

Transparency and market oversight

The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchange can be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

Monitoring daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse is possible with the recently launched tool Intraday Activity. It covers all trading segments, with a particular focus on Swiss Blue Chip shares, Swiss Mid & Small Caps shares, ETFs and derivatives. Thanks to four dynamic progress bars, you can easily monitor the current level of trading activity, while corresponding benchmarks allow for immediate assessment of the information.

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In an article (in German), Chris Landis, Managing Director and Head Operations at SIX Swiss Exchange, presents the advantages of X-stream INET. This new trading technology developed by Nasdaq OMX has been successfully introduced by the Swiss exchange on 23 April 2012. The article was published in issue no. 39 of the Swiss financial magazine B2B.

The world's fastest exchange

By simultaneously introducing a co-location service in partnership with Equinix, SIX Swiss Exchange sets a new benchmark: with its average roundtrip latency of only 37 microseconds, it is currently the fastest exchange in the world.

Advantages for all market participants

The higher speed and capacity benefits all market participants, as investment decisions can now be made much quicker and risks adjusted more efficiently. Market data is distributed faster as well. As a result of these combined advantages, risk management is significantly improved.

Our website provides more information on X-stream INET and our co-location service . For an overview of their combined advantages, please consult our factsheet on High-performance Trading.

Participants who want to take advantage of co-location can benefit from a fee holiday until 31 July 2012.

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Issue 06/2012 of "GoingPublic" addresses the key issue of investor relations. In an article (in German), Natalie Schweigert from the Swiss Society of Investor Relations IR club sheds light on the cooperation with SIX Swiss Exchange.

Network Platforms for the Investor Relations Community

The article illustrates how SIX Swiss Exchange supports issuers during the going public process and subsequent listing. It also describes the benefits of close cooperation between the IR club and the Swiss exchange. These include information and networking platforms on which equity issuers are networked and provided with up-to-date information.

The most important event is the Investor Relations Conference organized by SIX Swiss Exchange. This year's edition will take place on November 21. Last year's event focused on management transactions, the regulation of issuers and social media. You will find further details and dates in our event calendar and on the IR club website.

For Issuers and Investment Professionals

GoingPublic magazine is the leading publication for IPOs in German-speaking Europe. It is published monthly and in 2012 is dealing with the topics of corporate finance and private equity, capital market law, clean technology and biotechnology in four special issues.

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Today, Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) began trading on SIX Swiss Exchange. The company looks back on a history of 150 years. LLB has offices in four countries and employs over 1000 people.

Gregor Braun, Head Member Acquisition SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We're happy to welcome our new participant and wish him successful trading. At SIX Swiss Exchange, Liechtensteinische Landesbank enjoys excellent trading conditions and first-rate services combined with expert support."

World-class Stock Exchange Trading

Besides an average latency of only 37 microseconds, participants of SIX Swiss Exchange benefit from high liquidity, attractive spreads and customized services. That means they can trade successfully in a highly diversified market.

Interested in becoming a trading participant on the world's fastest exchange? Find out more about our efficient Membership Onboarding Process.

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SIX Swiss Exchange has made some improvements to CONNEXOR® Distribution and CONNEXOR® Listing. The unique service for entering and transmitting reference data for structured products can now additionally be used for complex and exotic structures. This allows the issuers to make their processes more efficient but also to offer high quality data to data users.

Based on these improvements, automated transmission of product events is now possible too. For issuers this is an efficiency gain; they have to no longer report official messages separately, so they save a process step.

Customer-oriented collaborationt

The improvements were developed and implemented with a focus on market developments and in conjunction with issuers. "Taking this approach allowed us to address our customers' needs precisely," explained Markus Gutzwiller, Head Issuer Services at SIX Swiss Exchange. "In the next phase, the processes for other asset classes such as ETFs and bonds will also be improved," he added.

Automated entry and transmission

CONNEXOR® Distribution and CONNEXOR® Listing were introduced back in 2009, giving issuers a web-based means of entering reference data on their financial instruments. These digitized, standardized data are then made available to various recipients - with no cross-media compatibility issues and no errors.

CONNEXOR® comprises a variety of attractive services for issuers, data vendors and reference data users. Information and publications can be found on the CONNEXOR website.

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In an article (German), Alain Picard, Head Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, shows which costs ETF investors have to be aware of, elaborating in particular on the cost factor spread. This implicit fee results from the difference between the buy and sell price and varies from product to product. In the article published in the No. 11/2012 of the Swiss financial magazine Stocks, Alain Picard explains why an Asian Emerging Market ETF traded on SIX Swiss Exchange may have higher spreads than an ETF on the SMI.

Information fosters transparency

Investors can rely on this basic rule: the tighter the spread, the cheaper it is to buy and sell a product. That is why SIX Swiss Exchange has launched Market Quality Metrics (MQM): this free online statistics tool allows investors to compare the average spread values of individual products on a daily basis. Therefore, MQM facilitates the comparison of ETFs and leads to more pre-trade transparency.

The world's fastest exchange

In an additional interview, Alain Picard briefly introduces the advantages of the new trading platform of SIX Swiss Exchange. He underlines the importance of investments in the financial market infrastructure and explains how they benefit both trading participants and end investors.

Success story ETFs

On SIX Swiss Exchange, the number of listed ETFs has continued to climb to new highs. Starting from 2000, this segment has now grown to encompass 787 products. In the same time, they have recorded growth on all fronts: from the number of providers and products, invested assets, to the asset classes and investment strategies covered.

Our website offers a wide range of information with comprehensive data and details on all ETF providers, market makers and products, as well as reports such as the ETF Quarterly Statistics. In addition, SIX Swiss Exchange organizes a large number of open events such as the Exchange Traded Product Days and ETF/ETP Lunches.

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Last Monday saw the 20th edition of the ETF/ETP lunch seminars. The event was held at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Stephan Müller, Product Management & Development at Swiss & Global Asset Management, presented the topic "ETFs/ETPs on industrial metals - added value or cost trap?". A large number of professional investors and participants of the Swiss financial market followed his speech with great interest.

In his presentation, Stephan Müller highlighted the potential added value and eventual cost traps of physically replicated ETFs and ETPs on industrial metals. At the same time, he underlined the relevance of the costs for delivery and custody. Swiss & Global Asset Management currently has 32 ETFs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.

The next event will be held on 18 June 2012 and will be a roundtable discussion together with Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss & Global Asset Management and UBS. Thomas Pohlmann, Head of Marketing & Sales (RBS), Stephan Müller, Product Management & Development (Swiss & Global Asset Management) and Florian Cisana, ETF Sales (UBS), will talk about "ETFs/ETPs on commodities & metals". Information on future dates and program content can be found in our event calendar.

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Exchange Traded Funds have been a great success story. In recent years they have recorded growth on all fronts: from the number of providers and products, invested assets, to the asset classes and investment strategies covered. On SIX Swiss Exchange alone, the number of listed ETFs has continued to climb to new highs. Starting from 2000, this segment has now grown to encompass 784 products.

The success of ETFs prompted many providers to launch products which have similar-sounding names, but differ markedly from ETFs in one important respect - they are not regulated funds. Why this point is important, and how investors can tell the difference between the products on offer, is explained by Alain Picard in the guest article (German) that was published in the latest edition of the Swiss financial newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.

Actively promoting knowledge of ETFs

SIX Swiss Exchange has frequently taken the initiative to improve understanding of these products. Our website offers a wide range of information, including reports such as the ETF Quarterly Statistics, comprehensive data and details on all ETF providers, market makers and products, and the unique Market Quality Metrics (MQM) pre-trade transparency tool.

In addition, SIX Swiss Exchange organizes a large number of open events such as the Exchange Traded Product Days and ETF/ETP Lunches.

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FlexTrade will provide direct access to SIX Swiss Exchange via its award-winning execution management system (EMS), FlexTRADER, which is a multi-asset trading solution with pre-defined strategies and tactics for both portfolio and single stock trading. Founded in 1996, FlexTrade Systems Inc. today has offices in North America, Europe and Asia, its worldwide client base spanning more than 150 buy- and sell-side firms.

"It's an honour to become a certified ISV with SIX Swiss Exchange," said Vikas Kedia, managing director of FlexTrade's EMEA office in London. "We are fully committed to providing the exchange and its members with the latest in state-of-the-art risk management and trading technology software."

Linking exchange and participants

"Third Party Service Providers play a vital role in facilitating participant access to the SIX Swiss Exchange infrastructure. We welcome new and innovative companies wishing to become approved Service Providers", commented Maneesh Wadhwa, Relationship Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange.

The forms to apply for approval as a Service Provider are available on our website. Our regularly updated list contains all approved Service Providers that enable various aspects of participant connections to SIX Swiss Exchange.

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On 10 May 2012 the Swiss Bond Commission (SBC) held its 8th Annual General Meeting at the Hotel Widder in Zurich. With over 60 participants, including numerous institutional investors and bond experts from the major banks, the event posted a broad attendance.

After the official part, Dr. Dominique Ammann, Founding Partner and Chairman of the Board of the Investment Consultancy Firm PPCmetrics, delivered a speech on the topic of "Pension Funds in a Low Yield Environment". His presentation (in German) summarizes his analysis and his suggested solutions.

The Swiss Bond Commission (SBC) is the leading expert on all questions concerning the Swiss bond market. The only network of the key players in Switzerland, the SBC closely cooperates with market participants, authorities, and regulatory institutions and provides its members with an efficient platform for sharing opinions and information. Its website provides an overview of all its events.

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The lastet statistical monthly report shows low trading activity in April 2012 on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse. Overall, both turnover and the number of transactions has been below the values of the previous month and the same period since the beginning of the year. The only exception is the segment Bonds CHF.

Since the beginning of the year, turnover in Bonds CHF was almost 19% higher than in 2011 and reached CHF 65'328 million (vs. CHF 55'035 million). Comparing just the month of April, turnover in 2012 was CHF 1'760 million higher than in 2011 (13'820 vs. 11'520). The same observation applies for the number of trades: with 185'660 transactions, the segment Bonds CHF posts growth of 9.5% compared to the same period of the previous year. With 38'699 trades, the number of transactions in April 2012 was also higher than in April 2011 (35'584).

Transparency and market oversight

The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchange can be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

Furthermore, the recently launched tool Intraday Activity allows you to monitor daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse. It covers all trading segments, with a particular focus on Swiss Blue Chip shares, Swiss Mid & Small Caps shares, ETFs and derivatives. Thanks to four dynamic progress bars, you can easily monitor the current level of trading activity, while corresponding benchmarks allow for immediate assessment of the information. A table offers even more granular data, organized by market segment and orderbook type.

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The SLS Daily Execution Report is being provided to help clients find liquidity in stocks they wish to trade particularly where the trading requirement is significant in comparison to the stock's average daily volume (ADV). The report shows a summary of the trading activity with individual trades aggregated by stock and has a separate column showing the total number of executions. In addition, the report indicates the sector, industry, daily volume executed, daily turnover, daily turnover as a percentage of the ten-day ADV, and the total price improvement achieved expressed in basis points.

The SLS Daily Execution Report is compiled jointly with our partner Liquidnet and is distributed daily. If you would also like to receive this report or make changes to the current distribution, please .

Simplification for clients

The new report is being produced in response to client demand, and underlines SIX Swiss Exchange's strong client focus. All SLS trades are "printed" post-trade with Trade Type Code "LN" (for Liquidnet) and can be accessed via your normal data vendors. This report however provides a useful and simple point of reference for the previous day's activity.

SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service (SLS) provides clients with direct access to the first-class non-displayed liquidity pool by Liquidnet, enabling block trades to be executed efficiently based on mid-point matching. SLS covers more than 2'500 shares from various European markets (Switzerland, Germany, France, Netherlands, UK). The market coverage will be extended in 2012.

Our website provides detailed information and further publications related to SLS.

Today, SIX Swiss Exchange welcomes RBC Europe Limited as new trading participant. The company is part of RBC Capital Markets, the investment banking branch of Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada. RBC Capital Markets operates globally with more than 6'500 employees in 15 countries and 70 offices, including in Switzerland.

"We're happy to welcome RBC Europe Limited as a new participant. As the fastest exchange in the world, we offer our clients ideal trading conditions", comments Gregor Braun, Head Member Acquisition at SIX Swiss Exchange. Since the introduction of X-stream INET and co-location participants of the Swiss exchange benefit from a latency of only 37 microseconds.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our efficient Membership Onboarding Process.

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As the first exchange to introduce X-stream INET, SIX Swiss Exchange offers participants the world's most advanced trading technology for equities. In combination with its new co-location service, trading on SIX Swiss Exchange is now almost 22-times faster than before, as average roundtrip latency is reduced to only 37 microseconds. Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "Besides faster execution and higher order volumes, participants also enjoy quicker adjustment of their investment decisions. This results in much more efficient risk management which benefits trading participants and end investors alike."

37 microseconds for all market participants

To allow participants to benefit fully from the outstanding performance of the X-stream INET trading technology developed by Nasdaq OMX, SIX Swiss Exchange offers a new co-location service in partnership with Equinix. "Participants from around the world have equal access to the Equinix data center in Zurich and can install their technical equipment next to the SWXess trading engine. This enables them to all enjoy the same superior latency and capacity regardless of their geographical location", adds Chris Landis, Head Operations SIX Swiss Exchange.

Along with X-stream INET and co-location, SIX Swiss Exchange introduces the standardized low-latency interfaces for trading (OUCH) and market data dissemination (ITCH). Market makers in ETFs, ETPs or Structured Products can now identify price movements in underlyings more quickly and execute corresponding investment and market-making decisions more effectively.

Investing in future growth

A prerequisite for the launch of X-stream INET had been the separation of the trading platform for order and quote driven securities in October 2011. In the future, this will allow SIX Swiss Exchange to extend the benefits of X-stream INET to its other attractive trading segments such as ETFs, Bonds and Derivatives, in order to attract more volume and liquidity in Swiss securities and strengthen its position as their reference market.

Our website provides more information on X-stream INET and co-location . For an overview of their combined advantages, please consult our factsheet on High-performance Trading. Information about the latency calculation is available in the Performance Measurement Details. Participants who want to take advantage of co-location can benefit from our fee holiday until 31 July 2012.

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As of today, SIX Group becomes SIX and simplifies its brand structure. In the course of this alignment, SIX Exfeed is integrated in the business area Swiss Exchange of SIX. In consequence, the content of the previous website of SIX Exfeed has been incorporated into the website of SIX Swiss Exchange. All information can now be found under Data Services.

Level of quality remains unchanged

The legal entity SIX Exfeed SA will continue to exist. Likewise, the high level of its products and services will also remain unchanged. With the integration of SIX Exfeed, SIX Swiss Exchange is enlarging its product offering and promotes transparency in the financial marketplace. "Customers receive high-quality market data, such as data on the blue chips traded on SIX Swiss Exchange and structured products traded on Scoach, conveniently and efficiently from a single source", commented Werner Bürki, CEO SIX Exfeed SA.

Publication of Annual Report 2011

Further information about the new brand structure can be found on the website of SIX, where the latest Annual Report is also available. In 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange realized its second-best operative margin ever: despite sinking trading volumes (-2.5%) it managed to increase its operating income by 5.4% to CHF 245 Mio. Furthermore, new records for the increase in participants (+15) and new securities issues (52'939) have been established.

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In the first quarter of 2012, turnover in the CHF bonds segment rose significantly by CHF 8.5 billion (+19.6%) year-on-year. Overall, turnover amounted to CHF 52.5 billion, despite a decline in March (-21.1% from February). Compared to Q1 in 2011, the number of transactions in the first three months rose by 9.7% to 146'956. This is highlighted in the latest issue of the "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" report.

There was also an increase in the number of primary-listed CHF bonds: as at 31.03.2012, there were 1'554 (Q1 2011: 1'499). Ueli Goldener, Head of Fixed Income Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "A real highlight in the primary market was both the large number of issues of subordinated lower-tier bonds as well as covered and asset-backed bonds. We were also delighted to see the first listing of a CHF-denominated mandatory convertible note on SIX Swiss Exchange by Credit Suisse." In Q1 2012, the international bonds segment posted a decline in volume of 19%.

Broad information offering

The "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" have been launched by SIX Swiss Exchange in 2012. The report is published quarterly and contains turnover figures as well as information about Swiss and international bonds traded. Up-to-date information on new admissions and market indicators, interest structure rates as well as volume and turnover is available on our website. Previous editions of the "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" are available in our archives.

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Today, Swiss Finance & Property Investment AG (SFPN) has listed 1'200'233 registered shares in the real estate segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. Trading started at CHF 83.00. This corresponds to a market capitalization of the listed shares of CHF 99.6 million. In addition to the existing shares, the company plans to issue new registered shares. Trading of new subscriptions rights also started today and will end on 24 April 2012; trading of the new listed shares on SIX Swiss Exchange is scheduled to start on 30 April 2012.

The equity capital increase is estimated to raise CHF 68 million. "We plan to use the new liquidity to acquire further properties, for the ongoing development of existing properties and to finance our projects", Chairman Dr. Hans-Peter Bauer commented. Swiss Finance & Property Investment AG was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Zurich.

Stock exchange bell opens trading day

The trading day was opened by Dr. Bauer who rang the stock exchange bell on this special occasion. With Swiss Finance & Property Investment, SIX Swiss Exchange welcomes a Swiss real estate company that focuses on the development and management of its real estate portfolio and the acquisition of new properties. Swiss Finance & Property Investment will be included in the indices SPI and SXI Real Estate, benefitting from instantly higher visibility among analysts and investors. UBS AG is the lead manager and sole bookrunner for both the listing and the capital increase.

After DKSH on 20 March 2012, Swiss Finance & Property Investment is the second company joining SIX Swiss Exchange so far this year. Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations, comments: "With Swiss Finance & Property Investment, we now have a dozen real estate companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, which shows the attractiveness of the sector in Switzerland, but also of our trading platform as we offer high visibility to companies listed here. Our aim is to provide issuers with an effective means of raising capital and therefore support their long-term growth. All listed companies benefit not only from the highly liquid and international market, but also from our comprehensive and personal customer care."

Furthermore, SIX Swiss Exchange offers existing and potential issuers comprehensive information in the Going Public Guide. Further information for issuers is available on our website.

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As the latest statistical monthly report shows, the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse rose in March 2012 to 2'902'422. This corresponds to an increase of 4.7% over the previous month. The segment Equities incl. Funds + ETSFs + ETPs saw 2'686'139 trades, an increase of 5.2%. This was topped by the ETF segment which posted growth of 8.1% (with 77'856 transactions).

By far the leader in terms of trading turnover was the segment structured products + warrants: in March, it recorded a plus of 6.8% compared to February, which amounts to a total of CHF 3.20 million. In the segment Equities incl. Funds + ETSFs + ETPs, growth was slightly positive, with turnover of CHF 59.32 million (+0.7%) in March. In comparison with the previous year, particular growth war recorded in the segment Bonds CHF: turnover rose by 20%; turnover since the beginning of the year amounts to CHF 52.47 million.

Ensuring market oversight and transparency

The daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchange can be seen on our website, broken down by product group and trading platform. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM). Furthermore, the recently launched tool Intraday Activity allows you to monitor daily trading turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse.

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SIX Swiss Exchange extends the data offering on its website with a unique new service. "Intraday Activity" is a user-friendly tool that allows investors, participants and listed companies to get an instant picture of intraday turnover levels on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland. It offers the most detailed and up-to-date information available free of charge for the Swiss market.

Dynamic display of trading activity

"Intraday Activity" covers all trading segments, with a particular focus on Swiss Blue Chip shares, Swiss Mid & Small Caps shares, ETFs and derivatives. Thanks to four dynamic progress bars, you can easily monitor the current level of trading activity, while corresponding benchmarks allow for immediate assessment of the information. A table offers even more granular data, organized by market segment and orderbook type.

Increasing market oversight and transparency

Marc Berthoud, Deputy Head Data & Index Products at SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We have launched 'Intraday Activity' because we want to deliver insightful information on our markets. After MQM, the Market Quality Metrics and ELM, the Equity Liquidity Matrix, it is yet another client-oriented service that allows us to further increase market oversight and transparency."

MQM allows ETF investors to monitor and analyze the cost factor spreads. ELM highlights the quality of the order books of SIX Swiss Exchange, helping participants to scan the markets for best liquidity. All three services are offered free of charge.

SIX Swiss Exchange is the reference market for over 40'000 securities. One of its key objectives is to provide the highest level of transparency. Thanks to the high data quality of its statistics, investors, issuers and participants benefit from reliable, neutral information.

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As the new "ETF Quarterly Statistics" shows, the Swiss exchange posted ETF trading turnover of CHF 21 billion in the first quarter of 2012. The average trade size was CHF 95'453. For 2011 as a whole, the turnover of SIX Swiss Exchange's ETFs segment totalled CHF 101.9 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 42%. In the first quarter of 2012, 23 new ETFs were listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. Of these, 17 are SPDR ETFs, with 7 offering access to emerging markets, while 6 are Amundi ETFs, 4 of which also focus on emerging markets.

Highest turnover in Commodities

Five of the ten ETFs with the biggest turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange in the first quarter of 2012 invested in gold and silver, three others in the Equity Emerging Markets asset class. Overall, Commodities ETFs achieved turnover of CHF 7'511.93 million during this quarter, which equates to 35.78% of the ETFs segment's total turnover. These turnover figures are just slightly larger than in the Equity Developed Markets asset class, which posted trading turnover of CHF 7'466.58 million or 35.56% of the segment's total.

The ETF with the highest turnover of all was once again CS ETF (CH) on SMI with CHF 1'188.6 million for the first quarter of 2012, up 5.7% on the prior-year quarter. At second place in terms of first-quarter turnover was iShares S&P 500 with CHF 1'038.0 million. Both of these ETFs have been among the top ten traded on SIX Swiss Exchange for more than a year. CS ETF remained the leading product provider by turnover in the first quarter with a 23.41% share, followed by ZKB ETFs with 18.30% and iShares with 18.18%.

780 ETFs listed - new all-time high

At the end of March 2012, the number of ETFs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange had reached a new all-time high of 780 (including 108 ETFs in additional trading currencies). ETFs from 16 providers are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange, with 20 official market makers providing liquidity. All in all, 219'944 ETF trades were executed on SIX Swiss Exchange in the first quarter of 2012.

The report "ETF Quarterly Statistics" contains the most important facts and market data from the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. Previous editions are available in our archives. The latest market data and up-to-date information on turnover trends and new listings are available on our website.

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Last Monday, the 18th edition of the ETF/ETP lunch seminars took place successfully at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Isabelle Bourcier, Head of Business Development at Ossiam, presented the topic "ETFs based on alternatively weighted indices such as Minimum Variance". Several professional investors and representatives of the financial marketplace attended the event.

In her presentation, Isabelle Bourcier focused on the dominance of indices based on market capitalization and argued in favor of alternatively weighted indices, highlighting in particular the advantages of Minimum Variance. Ossiam currently has five ETFs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.

The next event will be held on 30 April 2012 together with SPDR ETFs. Rochus Appert, Head of Intermediary Business at State Street Global Advisors, will present on the subject "Stratified Sampling - the art of physical replication". Information on future dates and program content can be found in our event calendar.

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The Swiss Biotech Report 2012 focuses on key factors for the success of the Swiss biotech industry, which ranks among the leading biotech industries worldwide for many years. It presents the most important innovation drivers and highlights key numbers for the development of the Swiss biotech industry. As in previous years, SIX Swiss Exchange contributed to the report.

Financing innovation

Andrea von Bartenwerffer, Senior Relationship Manager Issuer Relations at SIX Swiss Exchange, is interviewing experts Jakob Dynnes Hansen (Evolva Holding SA), Dr. Peter Johann (NGN Capital LLC) and Simon Nebel (Aravis SA) about the challenges in financing biotech. The topics include changes in the IPO profile of biotech companies, what future business models could look like and what the success factors for attracting financing might be. The answers to these and other questions can be found in the contribution of SIX Swiss Exchange.

Swiss Biotech Day

The Swiss Biotech Report was presented at the NZZ Equity Biotech Day 2012, which took place in the ConventionPoint in Zurich today. Organized by NZZ, the Swiss Biotech Association and SIX Swiss Exchange, it is the leading get-together of the Swiss biotech community. It featured presentations by listed and privately held companies as well as expert views on current business and science trends. The Day's special topic focused on "Biotech in India" and several leading Indian biotech companies were present and participated in panels or acted as speakers.

SIX Swiss Exchange - Focus on Biotech

At SIX Swiss Exchange, biotech companies benefit from outstanding visibility among investors, the media and analysts specializing in this sector with extensive expertise. With its Going Public Guide SIX Swiss Exchange offers issuers a practical publication containing all the information they need to know about a listing. Further information for issuers is available on our website.

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As of 1 April 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange has introduced the new training document Trading on SIX Swiss Exchange 2012. It will serve as the basis for the Trader Examinations after 1 May 2012. The practical guide provides all the key information on trading and describes the latest innovations and developments on SIX Swiss Exchange. It therefore enables candidates to prepare themselves effectively for the exams.

Christina Sandau-Jensen, Head Member Education, comments: "Our training concept is aimed at all SIX Swiss Exchange traders with or without a license recognized by SIX Swiss Exchange. For all of those who wish to take the exam after 1 May 2012, the new preparatory document is now already available."

Quality and client service

SIX Swiss Exchange training and examinations for traders set a high benchmark in terms of quality and client service. They ensure that traders have the necessary expertise in securities trading and that transactions are executed correctly. Further information can be found in the section Trading License & Training on our website.

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In the interview published in the 15th edition of "The Pearls of Switzerland", Christian Katz talks about the development of SIX Swiss Exchange. He highlights its contribution to the internationalization of the Swiss financial sector and describes the reasons for its success. Besides the outstanding conditions for listing and trading, he emphasizes in particular the strong focus on customers, which resulted in unique solutions such as SLS, the SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service, or COSI, the Collateral Secured Instruments that minimize the counterparty risk of structured products.

"The Pearls of Switzerland" is published annually in three languages. With its focus on Switzerland the editorial scope includes banking, economy and politics, industries, high-tech and innovations as well as culture and sports. The articles are contributions from a wide range of institutions and companies.

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As part of the introduction of X-Stream INET and Co-location, SIX Swiss Exchange, together with Equinix, the data centre provider, has decided to offer a waiver of fees for the new Co-location service.

The fee holiday starts on 23 April 2012 with the introduction of SIX Swiss Exchange Maintenance Release 2 (SMR2). Until 31 July 2012, all participants will benefit from the waiver by SIX Swiss Exchange of the technical connection fee and by Equinix of the fees for Cross Connect.

Fastest trading and high flexibility

Co-location allows for the shortest connection between the trading platform of SIX Swiss Exchange and the trading systems of its participants, meaning that this connectivity option offers the lowest latency. Furthermore, it becomes irrelevant where participants are located: whether they have their offices in Zurich or anywhere else in the world, they can all trade at the same speed thanks to co-location.

Please do not hesitate to contact Member Services if you have any questions.

The Exchange Traded Product Days are celebrating their fourth birthday in 2012. This event series is more in keeping with the spirit of the times than ever before, offering professional investors the ideal forum in which to talk to the experts about structured products and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

High-quality supporting program and renowned speakers

In addition to the extensive supporting program, with lectures and round-table discussions, you can look forward in particular to this year's keynote speaker, Prof. Dr. Klaus Wellershoff. Klaus Wellershoff is the CEO of Wellershoff & Partners Ltd., an internationally active consulting firm specializing in macro-economics and the financial markets. He is a recognized and respected economist and expert on Swiss economic circumstances. We are delighted that he has agreed to come and speak to us. The Economic Roundtable, moderated by Swiss TV presenter Reto Lipp and featuring the chief strategists of major Swiss banks, also promises a lively exchange of views.

Visit us at the ETPD 2012 in Zurich, and talk face-to-face with the financial professionals. Further information on the program, as well as how to register, is available on the ETPD website. Please note that the number of participants is limited. Other events can be found in our event calendar.

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As of the end of February 2012, the total volume of assets in the investment funds covered by the statistics compiled by Swiss Fund Data AG and Lipper stood at CHF 654.6 billion, an increase of CHF 14.5 billion month-on-month. Funds for institutional investors accounted for some CHF 243.6 billion of this total of just under CHF 655 billion. All data is compiled and commented by the Swiss Funds Association SFA in a media release.

Dr. Matthäus Den Otter, CEO of the Swiss Funds Association SFA, commented: "The total fund volumes figure is well on the way to returning to the high set last year at CHF 670 billion, provided the brighter mood on the capital markets prevails. Equity funds in particular have been able to largely recoup the losses suffered from outflows last year."

Information for investors and product providers

The Fund Market Statistics merge market data from both Lipper and Swiss Fund Data and are published on a monthly basis. Swiss Fund Data is a joint-venture of SIX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Funds Association SFA. On its internet platform, Swiss Fund Data provides comprehensive, unbiased information about investment funds that increase market transparency and enhance competitiveness of the Swiss investment fund industry.

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SIX Swiss Exchange today welcomed trading group DKSH Holding Ltd (DKSH). At the start of the first day of trading, the price stood at CHF 51.00, which equates to a market capitalization of over CHF 3.2 billion. DKSH is included in the SPI® index and listed on the Main Standard segment. SIX Swiss Exchange CEO Christian Katz: "As an exchange, it fills us with pride that shares of DKSH, a Swiss firm with such an impressive track record, are being traded through us for the first time today."

Attracting strong interest

The first IPO of 2012 on SIX Swiss Exchange is attracting plenty of interest. In total, it has allowed DKSH's existing shareholders to place shares worth over CHF 872 million on the market. This makes DKSH the biggest flotation of the year so far in Europe. There has been strong demand from both private and institutional investors such as funds, pension schemes and insurers. This broad international investor base is a signature feature of the Swiss financial market.

Milestone for DKSH

DKSH described the IPO as a key step in the continuation of its growth story. President & CEO Jörg Wolle: "We see the flotation as an opportunity to raise awareness of DKSH among potential clients and producers in a sustainable way."

DKSH is a leading provider of services for companies wishing to expand into Asian markets. It posted record results for fiscal 2011. The company was created in 2002 by a merger between the venerable trading houses Diethelm, Keller and Siber-Hegner. More information is provided by DKSH's corporate video.

Strong financial center with a unique network

SIX Swiss Exchange is the gateway for both Swiss and foreign companies to the international capital market and offers issuers many advantages. Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations, comments: "Our team is there to advise issuers of the many upsides of SIX Swiss Exchange and provide any assistance they may require before and after listing. Furthermore, we provide up-to-date information on the trading and liquidity of their securities and give issuers access to our unique network of contacts."

Several partners were involved in the preparation of the IPO: UBS and Deutsche Bank acted as Joint Global Coordinators, Berenberg Bank and Credit Suisse as Joint Bookrunners; acting as Co-Lead Managers, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Zürcher Kantonalbank were also part of the consortium.

With its Going Public Guide SIX Swiss Exchange offers issuers a practical publication containing all the information they need to know about a listing. Further information for issuers is available on our website.

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As the latest statistical monthly report shows, trading volumes on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland rose once again in February 2012. All segments combined posted growth of 12.2% on the previous month, reaching CHF 88'885 million. January 2012 had already seen double digit growth. While equities, including funds + ETSFs + ETPs, recorded gains of 14.7% (to CHF 58'093 million) and ETFs were up by 18.6% (to CHF 7'630 million), turnover in the CHF bonds segment rose by 6.0% (to CHF 19'039 million); only structured products and warrants were down by -10.2% (to CHF 2'999 million).

The number of transactions remained fairly stable compared to January 2012. The -0.4% decrease to 2'771'241 transactions in total is attributable to the -0.9% decrease in equities, including funds + ETSFs + ETPs. All other segments recorded more trades than in the previous month. The greatest increase was for CHF bonds which rose by 11.1% to 51'807 transactions.

Comprehensive information

Our website provides you with the daily volumes and turnovers for securities traded on SIX Swiss Exchange, broken down by product group and trading platform. The SLS Highlights report contains detailed information on turnover and blocks of shares traded through the SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service, the exclusive liquidity pool for block transactions. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

Contakt

Prior to the market opening on Friday 13th January 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange identified apparent issues with the initial order book snapshot. As a result, the ability to trade for some trading members was affected. In order to ensure the integrity of the market, SIX Swiss Exchange decided to delay the start of trading by three hours.

Unbiased assessment

In order to assess the impact of the delayed opening on overall liquidity and market trading volumes, SIX Swiss Exchange appointed the London based software company Intelligent Financial Systems (IFS) to perform a quantitative analysis leveraging its LiquidMetrix data. The LiquidMetrix Report focuses in particular on liquidity and trading in the 20 SMI stocks that occurred on MTFs during the outage. IFS's key findings are listed below:

• During the time of the market outage at SIX Swiss Exchange, very little trading occurred on the MTFs.
  
  
• Spreads on the MTFs widened and were more than twice their normal size. The liquidity within 10 bps of mid-price was sharply lower.
  
  
• Market makers on the MTFs were clearly moving the prices of their orders albeit with much larger spreads and less volume than normal.
  
  
• Virtually no OTC and MTF dark pool trading occurred during the outage as the SIX Swiss Exchange reference price is required for these markets to function.
  
  
• After SIX Swiss Exchange opened, the pattern of trading volumes/spreads and liquidity for the remainder of the day quickly reverted to normal. I.e. 50 bps order book liquidity for SMI instruments reverted to normal patterns for the rest of the day (see graphics below).
  
  
• At the end of the day the value traded on all venues was approximately 92% of the average value traded of the preceding 5 days. Given normal intraday variations this would tend to suggest that overall volume traded on the day as a whole was largely unaffected and shifted to the afternoon session.
  
  

50 bps Order Book Liquidity for SMI Instruments

Outstanding reliability

With only three interruptions of trading in the past 15 years, SIX Swiss Exchange is by far the most stable exchange in Europe. Market participants can assess order book quality via the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM), a free online transparency tool of SIX Swiss Exchange that uses quantitative data from a neutral provider.

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In an article (in French) published on 27 February 2012 in the Swiss economic newspaper L'Agéfi, Alain Picard, Head Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange, explains the advantages of the service "Market Quality Metrics". MQM allows investors to monitor and analyze the cost factor spreads. The service is offered free of charge on our website. The average spread values of the individual products are historically traceable, and they can be downloaded as Excel files.

Attractive growth segment

Since launching the ETF segment in the year 2000, SIX Swiss Exchange has actively contributed to its growth with many innovative services. In 2011, ETF turnover reached the record level of CHF 102 billion by growing over 42% compared to the previous year. Detailed figures are available in our report ETF Quarterly Statistics. During 2011, more than 150 new ETFs have been listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, resulting in a choice of now over 750 products. You can find an overview of all new products on our website.

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From today, COSI products from UK-based collateral providers can also be admitted to trading. This will enable other issuers of structured products to make use of this unique collateralization service. SIX Swiss Exchange is thus responding to the needs of its international clients who wish to be part of the COSI success story. Other jurisdictions will be added in the future. Previously, only Swiss-domiciled collateral providers were admitted.

Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We have carefully been working on the proper approach to make COSI accessible to international collateral providers. The first step has now been taken with the connection to the United Kingdom. This stimulates and expands the market." In future, both private and institutional investors will benefit from an even wider selection of certificates, offering the greatest possible protection against the risk of issuer default. At the end of January 2012, over 1'660 COSI products from five issuers were being traded on Scoach.

Successful cooperation

SIX Swiss Exchange operates this innovative, multiple award-winning service for the collateralization of structured products in collaboration with SIX Securities Services and Eurex Zurich SA . All COSI products carry a specific quality seal. Matthias Müller, COSI Product Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange, explains: "The COSI quality seal enables issuers to highlight that their products have independent collateral backing. It also allows investors to clearly identify COSI products." Further information on the advantages and functioning of COSI can be found on our website.

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Since the launch of SLS, the SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service, in July 2011 to end of January 2012, total turnover rose to CHF 835.75 million. In the same period, the average trade size on SLS was CHF CHF 405'311, which is substantially larger than on other dark MTFs. Detailed statistics are provided in the second edition of the SLS Highlights. This report is published on a regular basis and provides information on turnover and traded blocks of shares in SLS.

More information and new markets

Soon SIX Swiss Exchange will be able to provide SLS participants with an individual daily report on their activities, including the liquidity in all five SLS markets, top executions per market and details of their orders and executions. Furthermore, SIX Swiss Exchange is working to expand the markets available through SLS.

Globally unique advantages

SLS offers participants of SIX Swiss Exchange numerous advantages. Via their existing connectivity with the exchange, they gain direct access to a first-class non-displayed liquidity pool with a choice of more than 2'500 international securities from Switzerland, France, Germany, Netherlands and UK. All trades executed in SLS are based on the mid-price of the real-time bid/ask spread on the primary exchange. This represents significant price improvement and reduced market impact for participants when compared to trading on the primary markets.

Want to learn more about SLS? For more information on this exclusive non-displayed liquidity pool, please visit the
SLS webpage and have a look at the SLS factsheet.

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The 17th edition of the ETF/ETP lunch seminars was held successfully at the ConventionPoint in Zurich on 20 February 2012. For the first time, the event took place as a roundtable. The participants were:

• Dominique Böhler, Head Public Distribution Switzerland, ComStage
• Thomas Merz, Head ETF Switzerland & Liechtenstein, Credit Suisse
• Jakob Baur, Distribution German-speaking region, iShares
• Roland Fischer, Head of Institutional ETF Sales Switzerland & Liechtenstein, Lyxor

The four experts presided over by Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, discussed the topic "Advantages and disadvantages of various replication methods". The event was attended by numerous professional investors and financial market participants.

In their discussion Messrs Böhler, Merz, Baur and Fischer put forward potential arguments for physical and synthetic index replication and explained in detail the risks and benefits of the various methods. The importance of transparency in the ETF replication process was also underlined and a forecast given for the future of the ETF debate.

The next ETF/ETP Lunch will be held on 2 April 2012 in partnership with Ossiam. In her presentation, Isabelle Bourcier, Head of Business Development, will talk about the subject "ETF based on alternatively weighted indices such as Minimum Variance". Information on future dates and program content can be found in our event calendar.

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The bond manager Bantleon provides in his economic research an outlook on the financial markets in 2012. In his guest article, Dr. Harald Preissler, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Economist and Head Asset Manager of Bantleon, first analyses the start to the investment year 2012 and reflects about the question if the strong start is just a flash in the pan. He also outlines why the macro outlook is better than expected at the end of 2011. Furthermore, Dr. Harald Preissler assesses the different asset classes, with a particular focus on bond markets.

Read the complete guest article. Further publications about the bond segment of SIX Swiss Exchange are available on our website.

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In January 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse recorded a substantial increase in turnover which, at CHF 79.2 billion, surpassed the figures of the previous month by 13.7%. With the exception of the ETF segment, all trading segments posted gains: equities, including funds + ETSFs + ETPs were up by 8.3% (to CHF 51.3 billion), structured products and warrants by 28.0% (to CHF 3.3 billion) and CHF bonds even by as much as 46.5% (to CHF 18.0 billion).

Compared with December 2011, more trades were executed as well. Structured products and warrants were at the top, up 14.3% (total 88'153), followed by CHF bonds (+8.4%) and equities, including ETSFs + ETPs (+7.3%); only in the ETF segment were there slightly less transactions in January 2012 than in the previous month (-2.3%). Overall, the number of trades rose by 7.3% to 2'782'968.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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At this year's FONDS financial fair (1-3 February), SIX Swiss Exchange once again contributed to the FinanzFITamine education initiative. A workshop under the title "Börse warum?" (Stock exchange: why?) began with Dagmar Schönig, Curator of the Wertpapierwelt (museum of historical shares and bonds), discussing the history of listed companies and marketplaces. Then Lidia Pititto of Issuer Relations at SIX Swiss Exchange spoke about Switzerland's current stock-exchange setup.

In her presentation (in German), she outlined the tasks and economic functions that SIX Swiss Exchange performs as the operator of a reference market - regulation, trading, listing and market information - before explaining the reasons why companies decide to go public. In particular, she shed some light on the advantages that SIX Swiss Exchange offers its issuers, including innovation, quality, high visibility and liquidity.

One-to-one advice

As every year, SIX Swiss Exchange had a stand of its own at FONDS'12, offering open dialogue with investors and providing them with impartial information on all stock-exchange matters, notably Exchange Traded Funds. Furthermore, Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, took part in a media roundtable organized by Tages-Anzeiger on the topic of ETFs, bringing his expertise to bear in the discussion on whether they are harmless or dangerous for the financial system.

Attended by some 10'000 people, FONDS is the largest financial fair in Switzerland. This year's partners in the FinanzFITamine education initiative, which SIX Swiss Exchange helped to launch successfully in 2010, were the Swiss Funds Association SFA, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) with its iconomix education offering and the banking college Fachschule für Bankwirtschaft.

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The "Bonds Quarterly Statistics" is a means for SIX Swiss Exchange to expand its information offering. The report appears every quarter and contains turnover figures as well as information about Swiss and international bonds traded. Ueli Goldener, Head Fixed Income Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "With the new report we offer all actors of the Swiss financial marketplace a useful summary of the development of our bond segment."

Despite a slight decline in the fourth quarter, turnover in the bonds segment was up CHF 12.6 billion (+7.8%) compared to the previous year, amounting to a total of CHF 173.2 billion. The number of primary-listed bonds also increased to 1'538 as at 31 December 2011 (2010: 1'466). The sectors with the highest turnover in Q4 2011 (according to Industry Classification Benchmark) were by far Financials and Government, with more than CHF 14 billion and CHF 12 billion respectively.

2011: Increase of new listings in the primary market

The number of bonds issued in Swiss francs eligible for trading on SIX Swiss Exchange in 2011 was 394 (2.3% more than the previous year). A particular highlight in the primary market was the large numbers of new issuers in the emerging markets, e.g. from India, South Korea, Brazil and Russia. What is more, for the first time in a long time, a larger volume was recorded in the domestic segment (CHF 39.2 billion) than in the foreign segment (CHF CHF 36.6 billion).

The number of trades in the secondary market increased by 9.2%. The broad range of the SBI® Total AAA-BBB Total Return Index recorded an increase of 4.8% in 2011. The long-term federal bonds can also boast an increase: the leader was the SBI® Domestic Government 15+ Total Return with an excellent increase of 17.0%.

Up-to-date information on new admissions and market indicators, interest structure rates as well as volume and turnover is available on our website.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange welcomes its first new participant in 2012: Ronin Trading Europe LLP. The proprietary trading firm is headquartered in Chicago and also has offices in New York and California as well as subsidiaries located in Europe and Singapore. Ronin's trading operations cover a variety of markets. For more information, please visit the company's website.

Gregor Braun, Head of Member Acquisition at SIX Swiss Exchange comments: "We welcome Ronin Trading Europe on our Exchange and wish them successful trading on our high-performance platform." There are currently 125 trading participants active on SIX Swiss Exchange. With the introduction of Co-location and the implementation of X-Stream INET in the first half of 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange will set a new standard in terms of speed and capacity, in order to offer market participants first-rate trading technology.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our efficient Membership Onboarding Process.

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State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is further extending its product range on SIX Swiss Exchange by launching 16 new ETFs today. In an interview, Rochus Appert, Vice President of State Street Global Advisors, explains the special features of the new SPDR ETFs. Given that half the new products provide access to emerging markets, Rochus Appert also gives his assessment of the growth potential of this asset class. He also unveils a world first within the SPDR ETF product range, covering 98% of global market capitalization.

The SPDR ETF product line is offered by SSgA, which first launched its products on SIX Swiss Exchange in May 2011. SSgA created the world's first ETF as early as 1993. It replicates the S&P 500 and recently became the first ETF to exceed USD 100 billion in net assets. Further information on all the SPDR® ETFs is available online.

"Attractive range of ETFs on SIX Swiss Exchange"

With the addition of these 16 new SPDR products, the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange now comprises a record amount of 779 ETFs. The market making will be assured by Commerzbank, which now provides liquidity for 322 products on SIX Swiss Exchange. In order to allow both private and institutional investors to implement their particular investment strategies, SIX Swiss Exchange is continuously aiming to increase its appeal as a marketplace for new products and providers. An overview of all the new products on SIX Swiss Exchange is available on our website.

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In the 4th quarter of 2011 SIX Swiss Exchange recorded an ETF trading turnover of CHF 22.6 billion. This represents an increase of around CHF 3.0 billion over Q4 2010. Total annual turnover in the SIX Swiss Exchange ETF segment came to CHF 101.9 billion, which equates to an impressive growth of 42% year-on-year. The CHF 13'767.8 million achieved in August even set an all-time record. According to Alain Picard, Head of Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, "the record turnover of over CHF 100 billion shows that despite current debate over their structure, ETFs are very popular with investors".

Commodities & precious metals the most actively traded asset class in Q4 2011

Five of the top ten ETFs, in terms of turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange, invested in gold and silver in the 4th quarter of 2011. In the same period, ETFs on commodities and precious metals generated a total trading turnover of CHF 9'974.95 million, accounting for 44.15% of the total turnover for the ETF segment. The ETF with the strongest turnover was CS ETF (CH) on SMI, which ended Q4 2011 with a turnover of CHF 1'172.6 million, followed by ZKB Gold ETF (USD), with a turnover well in excess of CHF 1 billion, 23.5% higher than the value for the prior-year quarter.

CS ETF also improved during the 4th quarter to become top product provider with 22.69% of turnover, pushing
ZKB ETFs out of the top spot (now in second place with 20.15%), while iShares recorded a 15.24% share of turnover, occupying third place.

New records set in 2011

Thanks to these strong figures, the ETF segment managed to exceed the total annual turnover for 2010 in just three quarters. The number of transactions rose to 983'229 in 2011, an increase of around 30% on the previous year.

The range of products also continued to grow. 155 new products were launched, bringing the number of listed ETFs to a record high of 757 at the end of 2011 (including 108 in additional trading currencies). ETFs from 16 different providers can be traded on SIX Swiss Exchange, with 20 official market makers providing liquidity.

The report "ETF Quarterly Statistics" contains the most important facts and market data from the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. Previous editions are available in our archives. The latest market data and up-to-date information on turnover trends and new listings are available on our website.

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The ETF/ETP lunch seminars were successfully kicked off with the first edition in 2012 and 16th overall, which was held last Monday at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Thomas Merz, Head ETF Switzerland & Liechtenstein at Credit Suisse AG gave a presentation entitled "A compass for the rapidly growing ETF offering - A quick guide to choosing ETFs". The event was attended by numerous professional investors and financial market participants.

In his presentation, Thomas Merz demonstrated a structured process for selecting ETFs and listed motives for increasing passive investment. He also covered the importance of transparency in the ETF selection process. Credit Suisse currently provides 58 of the ETFs listed on the Swiss stock exchange.

The next event will be held on 20 February 2012 and will be a roundtable discussion together with Commerzbank, Credit Suisse AG, iShares and Société Générale on the "Pros and cons of various replication methods". Participants include Dominique Böhler, Head of Public Distribution Switzerland (Commerzbank), Thomas Merz, Head of ETF Switzerland & Liechtenstein (Credit Suisse AG), Jakob Baur, Distribution in German-speaking regions (iShares) and Roland Fischer, Head of Institutional ETF Sales Switzerland & Liechtenstein (Société Générale). Information on future dates and program content can be found in our event calendar.

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For over 30 years, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Region of Switzerland & Liechtenstein has organized an annual ski event for ICMA member firms in Switzerland. Ever since, this charity ski weekend has become a major event and is one of the main social gatherings in the calendar year for the Association. By sponsoring this event, SIX Swiss Exchange is facilitating the networking among professionals of the international Bond community.

This year, the event took place in the ski resort of Engelberg from 20 to 22 January 2012. Once again, it attracted many buy-side and sell-side firms not only from Switzerland and Liechtenstein but also from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia and Austria. Overall, more than 80 professionals enjoyed the light-hearted and fancy-free mood prevailing at the event, where conversations were not limited merely to the latest hot topics in the financial world. The traditional ski race itself took place on Saturday, featuring 35 participants.

The surplus of revenues from the ICMA Annual Charity Ski Weekend 2012 was donated to Gift2Help Limited. Its website offers a choice of projects where 100% of every donation made goes directly to the charity concerned.

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The January/February 2012 edition of Foreign Affairs contains the country focus "Switzerland - Strengthening Relations with the U.S.". The section features an interview with Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange and includes further articles and interviews with several other CEOs of leading Swiss companies.

In his interview, Christian Katz describes the Swiss marketplace, pointing out the many reasons that make Switzerland a desirable business location and place to invest. He also explains the role of SIX Swiss Exchange as a key pillar of the Swiss financial sector's infrastructure and highlights how the exchange distinguishes itself from its competition. Finally, Christian Katz provides an outlook to the measures taken by SIX Swiss Exchange to keep offering all market participants first-rate equity trading technology. The complete Switzerland Special is available on the website of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Affairs qualifies itself as "America's most influential publication on International affairs and foreign policy for 90 years". Its articles are authored by the most prolific economists and politicians, reaching target groups such as top officials in the White House and all members of Congress as well as economic leaders and diplomats of foreign governments. The January/February 2012 edition will also be distributed at the World Economic Forum in Davos 2012 and reach all its global participants and attendees.

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In January 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange launched a series of events known as ETF/ETP Lunches. A total of 15 events were held in conjunction with various product providers and market makers. These one-hour sessions at ConventionPoint in the exchange building gave professional investors and financial market players an insight into the latest issues, market analyses and product innovations.

Alain Picard, Head of Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, explains as follows: "We've had very positive feedback both from our partners and from visitors to the events. As they have proved extremely successful, we've decided to hold the ETF/ETP Lunches again in 2012". Ten dates have already been chosen, of which four are reserved for the new "round table" format.

New format: the round table

The round table sessions will involve several product providers and market makers at the same time. They will consider the issues "The advantages and disadvantages of various replication methods", "ETFs/ETPs on commodities", "ETF/ETP market making and trading" and "The use of ETFs in portfolio management". At the other six events, presentations will be held as previously.

The first ETF/ETP Lunch in 2012 will be held on 23 January. Thomas Merz of Credit Suisse will present the topic "Kompass für das schnell wachsende ETF Angebot - Orientierungshilfe zur ETF Auswahl" (in German). An overview of further dates is available in our event calendar.

Conveying knowledge - creating growth

The series of events benefits both product providers and investors, facilitating exchanges of knowledge relating to ETFs and ETPs as well as offering an ideal networking platform. SIX Swiss Exchange thus brings the various players together and actively contributes to growth in the ETF and ETP segments.

Information about past events is available on our News page (see tab "Archive"). If you have any questions on the ETF/ETP Lunches 2012, please contact the ETF Product Management of SIX Swiss Exchange.

In 2011, trading volume and turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange increased in many segments. The ETF segment, in particular, once again exceeded its previous record figures. In 2011, turnover increased to CHF 101'934 million, representing a 42.2% increase over the previous year and double the turnover of 2009. Structured products and warrants recorded the second highest growth in turnover, increasing 30.3% (to CHF 51'760 million). Overall, turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse was CHF 1'161'250 million (-2.5%) in 2011.

Almost a million transactions in the ETF segment

The number of trades on SIX Swiss Exchange rose significantly compared to the previous year: 40'020'385 transactions represent a gain of 14.4% and the second-best result of all times (after 2008). Here too, the ETF segment recorded the greatest growth: with a gain of 41.2% it almost reached the million threshold (983'299 trades). In the equities segment including funds, ETSFs + ETPs, the number of transactions rose by 14.7% to a total of 37'112'904.

Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange commented: "This growth puts us clearly at the forefront in Europe. We view this as evidence of the appeal of our exchange and our successful endeavours to impress with an outstanding infrastructure and consistent focus on clients." More detailed information on the key statistics may be found in our statistical monthly report. An overview of the SIX Swiss Exchange order book quality is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

Record number of new trading participants

In 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange registered a great increase in terms of trading participants for the second time in a row. In total, 15 new participants were admitted, the majority from outside Switzerland. "With the launch of pioneering innovations and the expansion of existing services such as SLS, the SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service, as well as with massive capacity and latency improvements to our trading platform, we will continue to enhance our appeal as a trading location in 2012", Gregor Braun, New Member Sales SIX Swiss Exchange, commented.

SIX Swiss Exchange welcomes new issuers

With Autoneum Holding AG and Hochdorf Holding AG, two companies decided to list on SIX Swiss Exchange in 2011. The Swiss exchange also welcomed three new ETF issuers: State Street Global Advisors, Ossiam and Raiffeisen. With the 155 products that were listed in 2011, the selection at the end of the year comprised 757 ETFs. According to Alain Picard, Head Product Management SIX Swiss Exchange: "Product providers find ideal conditions at SIX Swiss Exchange and receive active support from us when launching new products. As a result of the listing of interesting new products, among other factors, our ETF segment once again continued its success story in 2011."

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In the program "Echo der Zeit" of Swiss radio channel DRS 1, economics editor Ivan Lieberherr reviews the outgoing year with the CEO of SIX Swiss Exchange. Looking back, Christian Katz expresses his opinion that the high volatility on stock markets observed in 2011 was not something unusual, but rather the expression of the development that both political and economic forecasts have become more difficult: "Most of the variations we have seen are in fact reflections of a new era with higher political and economical risks than a few years ago."

In the broadcast Christian Katz also notes that longer phases with strong movements in the markets are not a new phenomenon but have always happened in financial markets. What might have changed however is the perception of the volatility - due to the steady upward trend in the years following the millennium: "We as market participants have been spoiled and got used to risk being very cheap."

Listen to the complete program (in German) of Echo der Zeit on the "Year of insecurity on financial markets".

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At the Mondo Visione Exchange Forum held in London at the end of November 2011, the CEO of SIX Swiss Exchange, Christian Katz, spoke about the rising threat of cyber criminality and attacks on IT infrastructure. He pointed out that SIX Swiss Exchange is focusing on its own infrastructure, spending plenty of resources and manpower in order to ensure that its systems are well-protected if and when attacks should happen.

Christian Katz emphasized that in order to keep the outstanding operational and security track record of its trading system, SIX Swiss Exchange will continue to invest and to monitor the developments very closely.

Contributing to stability

He underlined that the system stability of SIX Swiss Exchange also includes aspects such as circuit breakers, which it has already put in place several years ago for various situations such as price jumps or avalanche trading (see also "Trading Interruption Overview"). Furthermore, setting capacity limits for each of its trading participants enables SIX Swiss Exchange to protect its trading system by preventing them to get out of their spectrum.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange is proud to welcome the second new ETF issuer in December 2011: Raiffeisen is launching four products on physical gold. The "Raiffeisen ETF - Solid Gold" and "Raiffeisen ETF - Solid Gold Ounces" are each available in two tranches with or without currency hedging. The "Solid Gold Ounces" poses a novelty as it is the first ETF in Switzerland that allows investors to purchase physical gold starting from just one ounce.

With the four new ETFs the range of products at SIX Swiss Exchange is growing to 757. Overall, 30 of them are physically backed gold ETFs that are only available in Switzerland. Raiffeisen itself will provide the liquidity in the four new ETFs. SIX Swiss Exchange therefore now has 16 issuers and 21 market makers.

Record growth in the ETF segment

Since its launch in the year 2000 the ETF segment at SIX Swiss Exchange has recorded impressive growth. After just three quarters this year, higher revenues were achieved and more deals concluded than in the previous record year 2010. Altogether 155 new ETFs have already been listed at SIX Swiss Exchange since the start of the year. You can find an overview of all new products on our website.

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Today the XENIX ETF & Swiss Wealth Management Day 2011 was held at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. The conference focused on the three core topics "Multi-asset Diversification with ETFs", "ETF Trading and Liquidity" and "ETFs for Individual Mandates and Asset Management".

Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, gave a presentation on the second core topic entitled "High trading volume and liquid ETFs on the Swiss stock exchange: Quality Features of ETF Trading". He then also took part in a discussion round dealing with the topic of "ETF Trading for Asset Managers: NAVs, Spreads and Best Execution".

By experts for experts

The event was attended by professional ETF investors such as investment advisors, private bankers, asset managers and portfolio managers. It was organized by XENIX, a specialist financial services provider from Germany, in collaboration with partners Credit Suisse, FlowTraders, ComStage ETF and SIX Swiss Exchange.

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In November 2011, a total of 3'287'776 transactions were processed at SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse across all segments, which represents an increase of over 6% from November 2010. Compared to the same period in the previous year, the number of transactions is up by over 15% at 37'425'761.

The largest increase in transactions was seen in the ETF segment with more than 44%, while the equities segment including funds, ETSFs and ETPs grew by 15.3% and the CHF bonds segment by 10%. A significant month-on-month growth was also seen in the international bonds segment, which increased by more than a quarter (25.8%), followed by CHF bonds, which grew 13.9%.

Despite an increase in the equities segment, revenues in November were slightly lower than in October at CHF 79'143 million (-2.3%). Compared to the prior-year period, revenues for 2011 amount to CHF 1'091'446 million, almost the same as in 2010 (-1.2%). The structured products and warrants segments produced an excellent result with an increase of 34.7%; this was only beaten by the ETF segment, which posted an impressive growth of 45.1%.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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The success story of COSI continues. As of today, Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, a subsidiary of Bank of America, is the fifth provider of structured products using the innovative service for collateralization that SIX Swiss Exchange launched together with several subsidiaries of SIX Group. Collateral Secured Instruments offer investors a maximized protection from issuer-related risks.

Matthias Müller, COSI Product Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange, comments: "We're pleased to welcome Merrill Lynch as new COSI issuer on Scoach Switzerland. Besides the steady increase of available products and the invested assets, this is another clear sign for the growing investor demand for COSI." Since the launch in September 2009, already more than 2'500 COSI products in ten different trading currencies and with over 800 different underlying assets have been issued.

Protection against issuer default

During phases of uncertainty on the financial markets, investor demand for security increases. With its unique collateralization model involving SIX Securities Services and Eurex Zurich, SIX Swiss Exchange offers issuers an ideal solution to cater to the security needs of investors.

Besides Merrill Lynch, COSI products are issued by EFG Financial Products, Bank Vontobel, Clariden Leu and Julius Baer. The products are traded on Scoach , the European trading platform for structured products operated by SIX Group and Deutsche Börse AG.

More information about COSI can be found on our website.

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The addition of French provider Ossiam brings the number of ETF issuers on SIX Swiss Exchange to 15 and makes five new ETFs - tradable from today - available to investors:

• Ossiam ETF EURO STOXX 50® Equal Weight NR
• Ossiam ETF STOXX® Europe 600 Equal Weight NR
• Ossiam ETF iSTOXXTM Europe Minimum Variance NR
• Ossiam ETF US Minimum Variance NR
• Ossiam ETF US Minimum Variance NR

Bruno Poulin, CEO of Ossiam, said: "We are very proud to list our first ETFs in Switzerland. First of their kind, they give access to transparent investment strategies with complementary risk profiles that are easy to integrate into global portfolio allocation. The Minimum Variance strategy aims to offer investors an optimised solution seeking lower volatility at a competitive price. In addition, we chose to develop ETFs on equally-weighted indices. This is a very simple way to build better-diversified portfolios and avoid the concentration and trend-following bias of market-cap weighted indices."

Alain Picard, Head of Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Ossiam to our Exchange. Its specialized products will help to ensure that the selection available on the SIX Swiss Exchange covers the widest possible range of investor needs."

At the end of October 2010, Ossiam became a subsidiary of Natixis Global Asset Management, the asset management arm of France's BPCE savings and cooperative bank group and one of the 15 biggest asset managers in the world.

SIX Swiss Exchange was among the first European exchanges to open an ETF segment and is recording steady growth for more than ten years already. With the five new ETFs from Ossiam, for which Flow Traders acts as market maker, the choice of products on SIX Swiss Exchange now reaches the total number of 759.

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Yesterday's information event held by SIX Swiss Exchange at ConventionPoint in Zurich provided interested professional and private investors an opportunity to find out first hand about possible methods of active counterparty management with structured products. The event was staged jointly with EFG Financial Products, Bank Vontobel, Scoach Switzerland and Swiss business journal "Finanz und Wirtschaft" as media partner and provided a varied program for the participants.

Hot topic - great interest

Against the backdrop of the current uncertainty on the financial markets, investors are having to increasingly consider the issue of counterparty risk when making investment decisions. "Our service is already well-established in the Swiss financial market, which shows that COSI has given rise to new, innovative financial products that help to diversify counterparty risk in an investment portfolio" explained Matthias Müller, COSI Product Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange.

Representatives of both issuers, EFG Financial Products and Bank Vontobel, used concrete examples to explain the effect such products have on a portfolio's risk and return potential as well as the consequences of a counterparty becoming insolvent. All presentations are available online.

Impressive success story

Since being introduced in May 2011, more than 70 COSI products with benchmark issues have been launched. COSI products are traded on Scoach Suisse, where investors can choose from a universe of over 1'500 COSI products in ten different trading currencies and with over 800 different underlying assets. The innovative service to collateralize certificates was launched in September 2009 and in 2010, COSI received an FOW Award and the Swiss Derivative Special Award. And in 2011, EFG Financial Products has received a special award at the ZertifikateAwards for the launch of COSI in Germany.

More information on the COSI service can be found on our website.

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The Investor Relations Conference, organized for the fifth time, took place on 24 November 2011. SIX Swiss Exchange held the event at ConventionPoint in partnership with the IR club, the Swiss Financial Analysts Association (SFAA) and the Swiss Society of Investor Relations Agencies (GIRAS).

Networking event

Overall, around 80 representatives from the Swiss Investor Relations community convened at the event to share their views and discuss current topics. An excellent set of presentations helped stimulating a lively debate. The morning session was devoted to regulation: Jörg von Felten (Disclosure Office) and Stefan Lüchinger (Head Listing & Enforcement) from SIX Exchange Regulation shared their insights and expertise on management transactions and issuer regulation.

Following a networking lunch, the afternoon was dedicated to social media, featuring two presentations by Professor Stephan Weichert (Macromedia University for Media and Communication) and Thorsten Greiten (NetFederation GmbH), as well as a roundtable discussion chaired by Martin Meier-Pfister (IRF Communications).

The full set of presentations and the panel discussion are available as webcasts.

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Today, "Traders Trophy Worldwide" was our guest for the second time on the Swiss Exchange. Students from various Swiss universities competed against each other in a real-time simulation. The best up-and-coming trader will take part in the global final.

Reception in a historic location

Christian Katz, CEO of SIX Swiss Exchange, welcomed the participants. Then the students were introduced to the technical procedures and challenges involved in trading by Rebecca Stasolla, Business Analyst at SIX Swiss Exchange. Once again the event was held in the "Decision" conference room in the heart of the exchange building where the original trading floor was located until the fall of 1996, bustling with hectic trading activity à la criée.

Global final in Amsterdam

Philippe Lauber, from the University of St. Gallen, is the winner of this year's competition. He was awarded a prize money of CHF 1'000 by Credit Suisse - the sponsor of this year's competition - and will travel to Amsterdam to take part in the March 2012 Global final. There he will have the opportunity to meet the winners of the national qualifying rounds from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, England, Hong Kong, India, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden and the USA.

Realistic trading simulation

The 34 participants from various faculties already triumphed over around 130 candidates in the qualifying rounds at the five participating universities - the University of Zurich and the ETH Zurich, the Winterthur University of Applied Sciences, the EPF Lausanne and the University of St. Gallen. Now they were competing on the virtual trading floor for the selection of Switzerland's best up-and-coming trader. The participants were not just assessed on profits, but also in terms of such skills as risk management and customer communication - precisely the qualities needed in the daily work of traders.

The Traders Trophy Worldwide was launched in 2008 by the Dutch financial service provider Oxyor. Last year, the competition was held in Switzerland for the first time and won by Marc Bareth (University of Zurich). For further information, please consult the Traders Trophy website.

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The Swiss bond market held up well during the financial crisis. This is the conclusion drawn by the Swiss National Bank in a guest article for SIX Swiss Exchange that also deals with the role the domestic bond market plays with regard to crisis-combating measures.

The Swiss bond market: three main characteristics

In its guest article, the SNB discusses the three main features that characterize the Swiss bond market. These are a growth rate among the lowest worldwide, a much bigger market for non-public borrowers than for public ones and the fact that foreign issuers account for a greater share of the market than their domestic counterparts.

High trading volume over the exchange

While most bond trading happens over the counter in other countries, the vast majority of trades in Swiss franc bonds are settled through the order books of SIX Swiss Exchange. As at the end of October 2011, 1'497 CHF-denominated bonds were listed on SIX Swiss Exchange, with a further 3'715 international bonds admitted to trading. New admissions, market prices and a list of all issuers on the SIX Swiss Exchange bond market can be found on our website.

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In order to offer its trading participants more relevant information, SIX Swiss Exchange is now providing new roundtrip time statistics (TCP/IP) for the connection between participant's sites and the primary site of its SWXess trading platform in Zurich Hardturm. Furthermore, this new functionality enables participants to optimize their environment for low-latency performance.

The roundtrip time statistics are published individually for each participant in the Member Section on the website of SIX Swiss Exchange, including historical data of up to 90 days. The roundtrip data is collected by a CorvilNet system deployed in the SWXess primary site from 07:00 to 19:00 CET.

Registration of Emergency Contacts

In order to help its participants gain security as well as being able to proactively contact them as quickly as possible in case of problems or emergencies with the trading platform, SIX Swiss Exchange now offers the possibility to register one or several emergency contacts with its Local Support Center.

Particularly in emergency situations, but also for trouble-shooting outside of office hours and during weekends, fast communication is very important. This is why each emergency contact, participants can even assign an area of responsibility for a SWXess component, which allows the Local Support Center to directly contact the right person or helpdesk within the participants organization.

Further information on how roundtrip time statistics are measured and how to add emergency contacts can be found in the MSC Message of 17, November 2011 (available in the Member Section). If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Technical Product Support of SIX Swiss Exchange.

The 15th and last edition of 2011 of the ETF/ETP lunches was held today at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. As a perfect finale to the series of seminars organized by SIX Swiss Exchange, Erich Meier, macro and commodities expert at Zürcher Kantonalbank, talked about the subject "Gold: still the most attractive asset class or upcoming bubble?"

In front of a large audience of professional investors and ETF experts, Erich Meier approached several subjects. He analyzed the difficult market environment for investors, assessed the situation of the gold market and provided an outlook on promising investments for the coming years.

The event series "ETF/ETP lunch" was launched by SIX Swiss Exchange in January 2011. Organized in close partnership with product providers and market makers, the one-hour events allowed professional investors to gain knowledge about the latest issues, market analyses and product innovations. As the events proved to be very successful, SIX Swiss Exchange is currently considering the continuation of the event series in 2012.

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The Swiss Inflation Event took place on 16 November 2011 at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. With almost 100 participants, including numerous institutional investors and bond experts from the major banks, the event posted a record attendance.

Inflation: a complex topic

The focus was on the compelling topic of Swiss price increases. The event was opened by Nicolas Cuche-Curti from the Swiss National Bank, who gave a report on inflation forecasts in the monetary policy concept pursued by the SNB. In his report, he addressed, among other things, the role of inflation in the monetary policy decisions of the Swiss National Bank.

Furthermore, Charles Fattouche of Barclays presented an approach for indexing Swiss inflation. The Swiss Inflation Event was completed by the presentation given by Alexandre Bouchardy of Credit Suisse who, using practical examples, showed how Swiss investors could protect themselves against inflation and what strategies they could pursue with inflation-linked bonds.

Al three presentations are available in form of a summary.

Successful partnership

The event was held this year by SBC for the first time in collaboration with ICMA and SIX Swiss Exchange; media partner was Finanz und Wirtschaft. Based on the huge success of the event, it is intended that a joint event be held again in 2012.

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By publishing a new handbook, SIX Swiss Exchange provides potential issuers with a guide containing all the information they need to know to "go public". This comprehensive compendium about the Swiss financial center with a focus on listings was created together with various companies and institutions.

A clear overview

The publication "Going Public on SIX Swiss Exchange" provides step-by-step information on the entire process of a listing, from the evaluation, through the preparation phase to the marketing and finally the aftermarket. From one milestone to the next, not only future issuers, but also many other involved parties will benefit from first-hand information from proven capital market experts on everything you need to know about going public.

Valuable support

A listing continues to be one of the most important sources of equity financing for companies looking to secure independent growth for the future. With its globally networked, financially powerful and efficient capital market, Switzerland offers ideal conditions for a listing. Andrea von Bartenwerffer, Senior Relationship Manager, comments: "As a key pillar of the Swiss financial center, SIX Swiss Exchange assists potential issuers with comprehensive personal support and accompanies them every step of the way towards new opportunities for growth with its leading industrial know-how."

The Issuer Relations Team is there to advise you of the numerous advantages of SIX Swiss Exchange and provide any assistance you may require before and after your listing.

The 14th edition of the ETF/ETP lunch seminars organized by SIX Swiss Exchange was held yesterday at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Armelle Loeb of HSBC presented the topic "Managing Emerging Markets ETFs".

In her presentation, Armelle Loeb described the main difficulties inherent in investing passively in Emerging Markets and explained how some of them can be overcome in order to manage efficient physical Emerging Markets ETFs.

The next event will take place on 21 November 2011 together with Zürcher Kantonalbank. Erich Meier, macro and commodities expert at ZKB, will talk about the subject "Gold: Weiterhin attraktivste Anlageklasse oder bevorstehende Blase?" (in German).

To find out more on the upcoming ETF/ETP-Lunches, please have a look at the program of events.

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With growth rates of over 50% for both turnover and number of trades, the ETF Segment of SIX Swiss Exchange continues to register a strong increase compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the segment CHF bonds is also boasting double digit growth in both categories, with 11.3% more turnover and 10.4% more trades.

Across all trading segments, 34'137'915 transactions were concluded in the 211 trading days since the beginning of the year. As of the end of October 2011, growth compared to the same period in 2010 amounts to 16.1%. Regarding turnover, a small increase of 0.6% was registered which corresponds to a total of CHF 1'012'455 million.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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SIX Swiss Exchange is one of the most international exchanges: many companies listed here are operating globally and industry-leading in sectors such as life sciences, consumer goods and financial services. Considering these preconditions, the effects of global crises on the Swiss capital market are analyzed by Christian Katz in an interview (in German only) in the November edition of the specialized publication "GoingPublic", which is focusing on the subject "The Swiss capital market: the better Europe?".

Furthermore, the CEO of the Swiss exchange expresses his opinions about the advantages and strengths of the Swiss economy compared to the rest of Europe and talks about the outlook for different trading segments and marketplaces.

Solid as a rock

With the outstanding stability and performance of its trading platform, SIX Swiss Exchange guarantees secure and continuous trading even in times of massive turbulences in the markets, such as in August 2011, when trading volumes increased massively. By doing so, it underlines its role as a key pillar of the financial infrastructure and increases confidence in the entire Swiss financial market.

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As of today, trading participants of the Swiss exchange benefit from a significant increase of the transaction capacity of the trading platform SWXess. At the same time, latency times in the equity market decrease. These improvements result from the launch of a second On Book Matcher (OBM).

Greater efficiency for the cash markets

With this enhancement, a separate On Book Matcher is available for order driven securities (equities in particular) as well as an OBM for quote driven securities (ETFs and Structured Products in particular). As a result, more than twice as many orders and quotes can be processed within the same time frame.

Another advantage: thanks to the new segmentation of markets, the mutual interference between the various market segments is largely eliminated. This has a positive effect on latency times in the equity segment.

Ready for the future

As a key pillar of the Swiss financial sector's infrastructure, SIX Swiss Exchange helps create the best possible trading conditions. Besides the immediate improvements which offer significant added-value for participants, the separation of the trading platform for order and quote driven securities creates an essential prerequisite for the launch of X-stream INET in the 1st quarter 2012, introducing another increase of the efficiency and performance of the SWXess trading platform.

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With the introduction of co-location, scheduled for the first half of 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange is further extending its service offering and improving its competitiveness. By doing so, it can respond even better to the need for fast trading of its existing trading participants and increase its attractiveness for potential clients.

Successful partnership with Equinix

For its new co-location service, SIX Swiss Exchange builds on its proven partnership with Equinix. The provider of data center services is already one of three proximity providers of the Swiss exchange. The new service is part of several measures taken by SIX Swiss Exchange that improve the performance of its trading platform.

Co-location will allow participants to fully benefit from the advantages of X-Stream INET. This new technology by Nasdaq OMX will be introduced in 2012 as well, reducing latency in the equity segment to levels below 100 microseconds.

Fastest trading and high flexibility

Co-location allows for the shortest connection between the trading platform of SIX Swiss Exchange and the trading systems of its participants, meaning that this connectivity option offers the lowest latency. Furthermore, it becomes irrelevant where participants are located: whether they have their offices in Zurich or anywhere else in the world, they can all trade at the same speed thanks to co-location.

In addition, SIX Swiss Exchange increases its customer-orientation by facilitating connectivity to its high-performance platform SWXess. Furthermore, participants benefit from high flexibility, both in terms of choosing its carrier as well as hardware and rack space, which are customizable to meet customers' needs.

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Yesterday, the 13th edition of the SIX Swiss Exchange ETF/ETP lunch seminars was held at ConventionPoint in Zurich. Once again, the event was attended by professional investors and representatives of the financial marketplace.

Benoît Garcia from Amundi ETF Institutional Sales at Amundi Suisse, and Emmanuel Monet, Amundi ETF Product Specialist, took a close look at ETFs. In their presentation, they talked about physical or synthetic replication, funded or unfunded structures, counterparty risk and stock lending. Revealing facts and misconceptions on all these topics, the Amundi ETF team provided additional transparency to the audience.

The next event will take place on 7 November 2011 together with HSBC. Armelle Loeb will be presenting on the subject of "Managing Emerging Markets ETFs".

To find out more on the upcoming ETF/ETP-Lunches, please have a look at the program of events.

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From today, listing applications for derivatives can be submitted electronically. SIX Swiss Exchange's enhancement of CONNEXOR® Listing adds significant value for financial market players. By offering a choice of three upload options, ranging from manual to fully automated, the Swiss exchange allows all issuers to find a solution that suits their needs.

This electronic procedure will result in massive improvements. Instead of having to submit hard copies of the application documents by post for each product to be traded on Scoach Switzerland, as has been the case up to now, issuers can now submit their applications electronically via CONNEXOR® Listing. This removes the final media disruption from the otherwise all-electronic listing procedure.

Improved transparency

This also lightens the workload of SIX Exchange Regulation by eliminating the time-consuming process of manually recording and filing listing applications, some 3,500 of which are received each month on average. Furthermore, sending listing prospectuses electronically makes it easier to publish them on the SIX Exchange Regulation website at a later date and thus make them available to investors in one central location. This makes for a considerable improvement in transparency.

CONNEXOR is the central interface between issuers, data vendors and investors and helps them to achieve greater efficiency, first-class reference data quality and comparability. Please refer to the CONNEXOR website for more information.

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Compared to the previous month, the volume of assets covered by the Swiss Fund Market Statistics rose by around CHF 3.6 billion. This means that as of the end of September, the total volume of assets in the investment funds stood at CHF 614.7 billion, with Swiss funds for institutional investors accounting for some CHF 221.2 billion of this figure. All data is compiled and commented by the Swiss Funds Association SFA in a media release.

This rise is due to the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) intervention to effectively peg the CHF to the EUR. It led to an appreciation of all funds denominated in foreign currencies which make up 52% of the total volume on the Swiss fund market. However, the currency induced increase was facing outflows of CHF 4.7 billion.

Information for investors and product providers

The Fund Market Statistics merge market data from both Lipper and Swiss Fund Data and are published on a monthly basis. Swiss Fund Data is a joint-venture of SIX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Funds Association SFA. On its internet platform, Swiss Fund Data provides comprehensive, unbiased information about investment funds that increase market transparency and enhance competitiveness of the Swiss investment fund industry.

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In the latest issue of "B2B", the Swiss magazine for collective and structured investments (available in German only), SIX Swiss Exchange is present with two success stories: the fast-growing ETF segment that recently posted new records for turnover and transactions, and SLS (SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service), the unique new non-displayed liquidity pool.

Industry-leading know-how

Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, takes part in an extensive panel discussion about current topics in the ETF segment. On the one hand, today's market environment and the future outlook are discussed. On the other hand, Alain Picard provides insight into how ETFs are launched on SIX Swiss Exchange and what support it provides with trading them. Furthermore, he shares useful advice on how the products and their providers can be discerned from each other.

With information events such as the Exchange Traded Product Days or the ETF/ETP Lunches, with publications as the ETF Guide (in German) and with free web-based services such as Market Quality Metrics, SIX Swiss Exchange is contributing in a significant way to educate the public about passive investment products.

SLS - globally unique

In a guest column, Kevin Schmid, Equity Product Manager at SIX Swiss Exchange, presents the numerous advantages of SLS. With SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service, block orders in over 2500 European equities can be executed efficiently and with best-execution.

This new innovative service, launched in July 2011, enables participants of SIX Swiss Exchange to realise greater efficiencies in trading and execution of large block transactions for themselves and their clients. Further information about SLS is available on our website.

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Swiss Equity - Neue Zürcher Zeitung's platform for successful companies - organizes a series of high-quality specialist conferences that give companies an opportunity to present themselves to investors, asset managers, analysts and various industry experts. Furthermore, these events provide ideal platforms for networking. As a long-standing partner, SIX Swiss Exchange helps exponents of the Swiss business and finance worlds to efficiently get in touch with relevant contacts.

A first in the Year of Chemistry

On 26 October of this year - proclaimed by the UN as the International Year of Chemistry - Swiss Equity is launching the new "Swiss Equity science industries day", which will be held at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. The half-day conference is aimed at investors, CEOs, CFOs and experts from the chemical and related industries. As well as an opportunity to exchange views with industry specialists, the event offers topical talks, company presentations, a panel discussion and one-to-ones.

Red carpet for sustainability

For the third time, Swiss Equity is organizing a sustainability conference: the "Swiss Equity cleantech day" on November 1st, 2011 - also at the ConventionPoint - offers Swiss companies active in the field of sustainability an opportunity to present themselves to investors and analysts in a neutral environment. After the welcome address by SIX Swiss Exchange CEO Christian Katz, the event features a highlight with the keynote speech by Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard on the operating conditions for cleantech in Switzerland.

Two-day real estate forum

The "Swiss Equity real estate days" were first held in 2007. For its fifth edition, the leading specialist conference for direct and indirect real estate investment continues to offer real estate firms, investment funds and REITS from Switzerland and Germany an opportunity to present themselves and their activities to a specialist audience, with the program rounded out by interesting talks and panel discussions. The event takes place in Zurich on 23 and 24 November 2011.

An overview of all Swiss Equity events can be found online. More events from and with SIX Swiss Exchange are displayed on our website.

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With a large advance, Switzerland takes the first place in the "Innovation Indicator 2011". With 76 of 100 possible points, it outranks Singapore (63 points) and Sweden (61 points). The study is available online. It comprises 38 single indicators with direct and indirect influence on the innovative performance. Both research and development processes in industrial enterprises, as well as indicators of implementation, demand or of the political and legal framework conditions were considered.

Switzerland: a successful model

Examining the individual indicators, Switzerland occupies a leading position for all of them. According to the study, this is due to a very well coordinated and holistically functioning innovation system. It identifies interaction of all relevant factors as Switzerland's secret of success, while it's particularly due to the strength of its economy that Switzerland's first place is undisputed. Already in previous editions of the study, Switzerland had clinched the top spot.

Besides its innovation performance, Switzerland owes its attractiveness as a business location also to a first-rate infrastructure. Part of this infrastructure is a well functioning financial market place, to which SIX Swiss Exchange contributes in a significant way. As one of the leading regulated exchanges in Europe, it supports both domestic and foreign companies seeking to raise capital with efficient, uncomplicated admission procedures as well as competent and personal accompaniment. Further information about the Swiss financial marketplace is available on our website.

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Monthly turnover in SIX Swiss Exchange's ETF segment was distinctly above CHF 10'000 million twice in a row last quarter. The CHF 13'767.8 million achieved in August was in fact an all-time record and the CHF 12'332.74 million in September the second-best result ever. In comparing the quarterly figures of Q3 2011 to those of the same period last year, the results have more than doubled, with CHF 33'398.6 million compared to 14'946.7 million.

Commodities the most actively traded asset class

At product level we also saw a significant increase in turnover from the previous quarter. The ETF with the strongest turnover in Q3 2011 was the ZKB Gold ETF, which more than doubled its turnover compared to the previous quarter, amounting to CHF 1'761.2 million. Second was the CS ETF (CH) on the SMI and third the ZKB Gold ETF (USD), both of which had turnovers much higher than CHF 1 billion and recorded a growth of 137% and even 214% respectively.

ZKB ETFs was thus the best product provider in terms of turnover during the third quarter with 21.94%, pushing CS ETF from the top spot (now second with 21.22%), while UBS ETF gained a 13.31% share of turnover in comparison to the previous quarter, putting it in third place.

New records set after just three quarters

It is thanks to these great figures that after just three quarters, the ETF segment has already surpassed the entire turnover posted in 2010 and has set a new record with CHF 79'221 million. Regarding the number of transactions, the 762'936 trades registered this year already amount to more trades than in all of 2010 (696'590).

The number of products has also increased once again. With 50 new products being launched in the third quarter 2011 alone, the segment can now boast a new record high of 741 ETFs. This amounts to an increase of 137 products since the beginning of the year. Overall, ETFs from 14 different providers can be traded on SIX Swiss Exchange, with 20 market makers providing liquidity.

The report "ETF Quarterly Statistics" contains the most important facts and market data from the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. It is published quarterly and is available as a PDF.

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The growth of SIX Swiss Exchange's ETF segment is uninterrupted: by the end of September 2011, the figures of the previous record year 2010 have already been surpassed. While turnover rose to CHF 79'221 million (2010: CHF 71'676 million), a total of 762'936 transactions were concluded in Q3 2011 (2010: 696'579).

Considerably more trades compared with the prior-year period

Across all trading segments, growth in turnover since the beginning of the year rose by 1.2% to CHF 931'070 million and the number of trades increased by 16% to 30'877'307 compared with the same period of 2010. Here too, the ETF segment is the driving force, with growth rates of over 50% in both areas.

Compared with the record figures from the previous month of August, turnover and number of transactions fell in September across all SIX Swiss Exchange trading segments by -17%, respectively -22.2%. But compared to September 2010, there was growth in terms of turnover and transactions, particularly in the segments equities including funds and ETPs, ETFs as well as structured products and warrants.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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By migrating its IT infrastructure to Rolotec, a company of SIX Group , Swiss Fund Data is able to lower its operating costs. On one hand, clients can benefit from more favorable fee conditions. On the other hand, this will free resources for new investment in terms of further expanding functionalities. In addition, clients will benefit from the increased flexibility and response time for systems changes. So far, SIX Swiss Exchange has been operating the IT of Swiss Fund Data.

Additional value for customers

Swiss Fund Data is planning to introduce new, client-oriented functionalities and services. This includes displaying more data content on its website, simplifying the way data is delivered and developing efficient client interfaces for the newly introduced KII (Key Investor Information) documents.

Erika Kessler, since 1 March 2011 CEO of Swiss Fund Data AG, comments: "I'm convinced that by choosing Rolotec as our new IT-Partner, we have made the first step towards an even better support of our clients in the future."

Competence center for fund data

Since April 2011, Swiss Fund Data compiles the official statistics of the Swiss fund market in collaboration with Lipper. The Swiss Funds Association SFA, together with SIX Swiss Exchange co-owner of SFD, publishes the monthly statistics together with a comment.

Thanks to the high data quality of the new fund market statistics and the regular publication, both investors and providers benefit from reliable, neutral information which increase market transparency and enhance competitiveness of the Swiss investment fund industry.

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange organized the first ever SPOT event, actively bringing people, ideas and organizations together. At this "Service Providers Outreach" a total of 16 exhibitors were presenting their company at the ConventionPoint, in particular independent providers of software, services and connectivity relevant to the exchange business.

This open day for exchange participants also allowed the numerous visitors to attend a series of interesting presentations about the hottest topics in today's exchange industry. The key focus was on latency: how to measure it, how to improve it and how SIX Swiss Exchange is preparing itself for future challenges.

A summary of the program, the list of exhibitors and information about the speakers is available in the handout of the event.

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During the "Finanzplatz Schweiz" (Swiss financial sector) study week hosted by the "Schweizer Jugend forscht" foundation, 34 participants got a chance to gain deep insights into the world of finance. UBS AG, the Swiss National Bank, Raiffeisen Switzerland, the business journal "Finanz und Wirtschaft" and the University of Zurich's Institute for Banking and Finance enabled the young visitors to catch glimpse behind the scenes of the Swiss financial sector during one week.

Under instruction by specialists, the participants conducted twelve projects covering a broad spectrum of subjects, ranging from national monetary policy to the challenges facing the commodities market and questions in regard to asset management.

SIX Swiss Exchange hosts the closing event

As in the previous year, SIX Swiss Exchange hosted the closing event in Zurich's ConventionPoint. This gave the young participants the opportunity to present their results to an interested audience. The exhibition of the week's project work held on Saturday, September 24 2011, encompassed first-hand reports of previous participants, accounts of new experiences and short presentations by the participants.

"Schweizer Jugend forscht" is a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping young people tap their full potential. It provides a national platform for promoting young talent and achievement.

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Yesterday, the CEOs of SIX Swiss Exchange and Liquidnet, Christian Katz and Seth Merrin, were both present in Zurich to meet with journalists and market participants. Along with John Barker, Head of International at Liquidnet, they presented the benefits of SLS, the new non-displayed liquidity platform where large block orders can be executed efficiently.

"Together with Liquidnet, SIX Swiss Exchange is the first exchange in the world to develop a service directly addressing the needs of a large institutional buy-side, offering them a more efficient and more secure way to execute their trades. SLS is offering an option that previously simply didn't exist and presents another choice besides splitting up large orders or going OTC", Seth Merrin, CEO of Liquidnet, pointed out.

Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, added: "Our aim is to be the independent investment network of choice. With SLS, we are bringing together all our participants and large institutional investors from around the world. This new service allows our banks and brokers to trade shares from Switzerland and the other four largest equity markets in Europe in unrivalled size OTE - over the exchange - with the number one global buy-side pool."

Successful launch

Since the launch of SLS on 8th July 2011, trading volume and average execution sizes have increased significantly. SLS offers market participants refuge from the trend of falling execution sizes on most lit and dark venues by providing access to genuine block liquidity.

All key figures, volume updates and news related to SLS are wrapped up in the new report "SLS Highlights". More information is available on our website and in the SLS factsheet.

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Today, already the 12th edition of the instructive ETF/ETP lunch seminars was held at ConventionPoint in Zurich. The event was attended by a large number of professional investors and representatives of the financial marketplace.

Paolo Corredig, Head Wholesale Business at Invesco Power Shares, gave a lecture about the topic of "Fundamental Indexing": the other way of indexing. In his presentation he pointed out, how and when fundamental indexing is used best. Furthermore, he presented the RAFI® methodology and the range of Invesco PowerShares RAFI® ETFs.

The next event will take place on 24 October 2011 together with Amundi ETF. Benoit Garcia, Product Specialist at Amundi ETF, will be the speaker; the topic will soon be announced on our website.

To find out more on the upcoming ETF/ETP-Lunches, please have a look at the program of events.

The series of ETF/ETP lunches launched in 2011 are held together with product providers at the ConventionPoint in the stock exchange building. The one-hour events provide knowledge about the latest issues, market analyses and product innovations for professional investors.

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Today, Tullett Prebon (Europe) Limited started trading on SIX Swiss Exchange. It is already the 13th company that has chosen to become a member of the reference market for Swiss securities since the beginning of the year.

Paul Dunkley, Managing director EMEA Volatility division at Tullett Prebon, commented: "Tullett Prebon is delighted to join SIX Swiss Exchange, enhancing the service offered to our clients in our leading pan-European equity division. Notably Tullett Prebon and our clients will benefit from the post trade services offered by SIX Swiss Exchange."

Tullett Prebon is one of the world's largest inter-dealer brokers and operates as an intermediary in wholesale financial markets, in particular for commercial and investment banks. The business covers the following major product groups: Volatility, Rates, Non Banking, Treasury, Energy and Commodities, Credit, Environmental and Equities. In addition to its brokerage services, Tullett Prebon offers a variety of market information services through its IDB Market Data division, Tullett Prebon Information.

Global presence

Tullett Prebon has its principal offices in London, New Jersey, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, with other offices, joint ventures and affiliates in Bahrain, Bangkok, Calgary, Frankfurt, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Luxembourg, Manila, Mumbai, Paris, Salt Lake City, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, Warsaw and Zurich.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our Membership Onboarding Process.

As of the end of August 2011, the total volume of assets in the investment funds covered by the Swiss Fund Market Statistics stood at CHF 608.3 billion, with Swiss funds for institutional investors accounting for some CHF 217 billion of this figure (a 36% share). According to the Swiss Funds Association SFA, assets under management depreciated by around CHF 11.2 billion or 2% in August, due to the ongoing currency crisis, the strength of the CHF and negative market developments. Net outflows of around CHF 3.4 billion were in large part attributed to profit taking in the bond fund segment.

All data is compiled and commented by the Swiss Funds Association SFA in a media release.

Information for investors and product providers

The Fund Market Statistics merge market data from both Lipper and Swiss Fund Data and are published on a monthly basis. Swiss Fund Data is a joint-venture of SIX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Funds Association SFA. On an internet platform operated by SIX Swiss Exchange, Swiss Fund Data provides comprehensive, unbiased information about investment funds that increase market transparency and enhance competitiveness of the Swiss investment fund industry.

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Yesterday, the Zurich ETF Conference 2011 took place in the ConventionPoint . SIX Swiss Exchange was present at the event with a stand, where the ETF team shared its insights with a wide array of professional and institutional investors as well as many players in the ETF universe.

The event is part of the PIP conferences organized by London-based financial media company ibpc. More information about participants, speakers and sponsors at the Zurich ETF Conference 2011 as well as an outlook on upcoming events is available on a dedicated website.

Sharing specialist knowledge

In the afternoon, the panel discussion. "An Overview of Current Trends & Analysing the Future for ETFs" featured Gregor Braun, currently Head Member Acquisition and Head Account Management CH & Continental Europe at SIX Swiss Exchange. Previously, he developed the ETF segment as a Product Manager for ETFs and other financial products and is a co-author of the book " Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)".

ETFs - an unparalleled success story

In September 2000, SIX Swiss Exchange was one of the first European exchanges to open a dedicated ETF trading segment. Ever since, it has established its position as one of Europe's leading marketplaces.

Currently on SIX Swiss Exchange, 20 market makers are providing quotes for 741 ETFs of 14 product providers. To find out more, please read our ETF factsheet or visit our website.

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Trading speeds have shown a relentless growth over the past few years and latency is one of the hottest subjects in the exchange industry. In this highly competitive environment, first-rate technology and knowledge are key to develop profitable strategies for the future.

Designed for Business and IT Professionals

By organising the first SPOT event (Service Providers Outreach) on 29 September 2011 at the ConventionPoint in Zurich, SIX Swiss Exchange enables its trading participants and other members of the financial community to meet a wide range of independent providers of software, services and connectivity relevant to the exchange business.

Get access to specialized knowledge

Furthermore, a number of speakers will share their unique and challenging views on the subject of latency. After a welcome introduction by Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, the following presentations will be held during the day:

• "Driving Down Latency in Supercomputers & Commercial Applications" by David Müller, Member of Management Supercomputing Systems AG
• "Latency in the Real World - The Game of Truth or Dare" by Donal Byrne, CEO Corvil
• "Trade Faster than You Can Blink" by Chris Landis, Head Operations SIX Swiss Exchange

Please join us to take advantage of the opportunity to network, to discuss industry issues and to share knowledge. To find out more about the event's schedule, to see the exhibitors list and to register, please visit our website.

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The launch of the new non-displayed liquidity platform SLS (SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service) has encouraged more flow into the Swiss market. Furthermore, accessing the largest institutional global block pool in the industry has enabled participants of SIX Swiss Exchange to realise greater efficiencies in trading and execution of large block transactions for themselves and their clients.

Highlights at a glance

Since the launch of SLS on 8th July 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange registered a significant jump in trading volume and average execution sizes. All key figures, volume updates and news related to SLS are wrapped up in the new report "SLS Highlights" , which will be updated on a regular basis.

Extension of fee holiday

Because of the successful launch of this new service, SIX Swiss Exchange is extending the fee holiday for SLS transactions until the end of September 2011. SLS provides trading participants with access to the exclusive liquidity pool of Liquidnet in which block orders can be executed efficiently and with best-execution.

Take advantage of SLS

Want to learn more about SLS? For more information on this exclusive non-displayed liquidity pool, please visit the SLS webpage and have a look at the SLS factsheet. If you have any questions, you may also contact the account managers of SIX Swiss Exchange.

In August, SIX Swiss Exchange saw a jump in trading activities. On 9 August 2011, a new daily record was set with roughly 390'000 trades. The number of trades was up in August by 64% compared with the previous month.

This was driven, in particular, by the equities (incl. funds, ETSFs and ETPs), ETF as well as structured products and warrants segments. With the number of trades reaching 125'862, the ETF segment advanced for the first time into six-digit territory.

Substantial increase in turnover

The ETF segment also set a new record in terms of turnover. With a gain of over 88% as compared to July 2011, turnover climbed to CHF 13'732 million. Turnover in the structured products and warrants segment almost doubled, growing by 93.5% to CHF 5'813 million. Across all trading segments, there was month-on-month growth of 51.3% in turnover in August.

Stability assured at all times

Overall, the statistical data for the month of August reflect the considerable turbulence in the equity markets, on which Christian Katz, CEO SIX Swiss Exchange, was questioned in a brief interview with the Swiss television news program "10 vor 10".

Even in the periods of record-high numbers of trades, the SIX Swiss Exchange trading platform was able to handle the massively higher load with no problem, so that stability and continuity were assured at all times. SIX Swiss Exchange is further enhancing its performance capabilities for the future by upgrading to state-of-the-art "X-stream INET" trading technology.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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The 11th ETF/ETP lunch seminar was held successfully today at ConventionPoint in Zurich. Christian Oettiker of Flow Traders spoke about "The Importance of Selecting and Trading ETFs".

In his presentation, Christian Oettiker illustrated clearly that performance can differ widely between ETFs on the same index. He examined the factors which determine performance, as well as the benefits of trading ETFs directly with an independent market maker.

The next event will take place on September 26, 2011, together with Invesco PowerShares. Paolo Corredig, Head of Wholesale Business Switzerland, will speak on the subject of "Fundamental Indexing: The Other Way of Indexing".

To find out more on the upcoming ETF/ETP-Lunches, please have a look at the program of events.

The series of ETF/ETP lunches launched in 2011 are held together with product providers at the ConventionPoint in the stock exchange building. The one-hour events provide knowledge about the latest issues, market analyses and product innovations for professional investors.

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Today saw the launch of a number of new improvements on SIX Swiss Exchange's website. The homepage is now visually more attractive, while the navigational structure and content have been reorganized, meaning clients can find their way around the site far more easily.

Dynamic and direct

The centerpiece of the homepage is now a prominent dynamic visual element which provides visitors with a clear overview of SIX Swiss Exchange's current offering and reaches out directly to address the needs of its stakeholders. Potential exchange clients can quickly find the pages they are looking for, while current partners are directed to new services and products.

Modern user interface

The "Participants" and "Issuers" sections, which were previously separated, have now been integrated into the main navigation. A new drop-down menu with a roll-over function gives clients a quick overview of the related sub-pages and direct access to the required content.

At the same time, the product-specific pages such as "Shares", "Bonds", "ETFs" and "ETPs" together with "Statistics" and "Indices" are now all assembled in the new "Market Data" section. Thanks to the new drop-down menus, these areas can still be accessed with a single click of the mouse. The useful investment tools, "myMarketpulse" and the know-how area can now be found under "Investors".

Competent contact persons

Furthermore, life of the clients is made easier by the new contact pages. They will now find a clear overview of the relevant contacts in the respective Participant and Issuer areas, meaning they can get in touch with the right person more efficiently. SIX Swiss Exchange's expert staff proactively work together with clients to enable their success, providing an excellent level of service quality and adopting a solution-oriented approach.

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After a short summer break, the 10th ETF/ETP lunch seminar was held successfully today at ConventionPoint in Zurich. Dominique Böhler of Commerzbank/ComStage spoke on the subject of "ETF Investments in an Inflationary Climate: Strategy and Implementation as Success Factors".

Dominique Böhler examined the factors that make up inflation, and presented asset classes which are particularly suitable for an inflationary climate. In particular, he looked into whether or not bond ETFs are the right choice in the context of product ideas to combat inflation.

The next event will take place on September 5 2011, together with Flow Traders. Bernardus Roelofs, Head of ETF Sales Trading, will devote the session to "The Importance of Selecting and Trading ETFs".

To find out more on the upcoming ETF/ETP-Lunches, please have a look at the program of events.

The series of ETF/ETP lunches launched in 2011 are held together with product providers at the ConventionPoint in the stock exchange building. The one-hour events provide knowledge about the latest issues, market analyses and product innovations for professional investors.

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The Swiss stock exchange welcomes CIM Banque today as its newest participant. This brings the total number of trading participants on SIX Swiss Exchange to 133. Founded in 1990 by the Luxemburgian private banker Francesco Signorio, the Swiss bank currently employs more than 60 staff and has clients in more than 80 countries. As well as asset management, CIM Banque offers a number of services such as online trading, international wire services and credit cards from its two locations in Geneva and Lugano.

Fast and secure internet banking

CIM Banque provides financial services via a high-performance internet banking system to both private and institutional clients. "The speed of settlements and transactions is of as much importance to our clients as guaranteed security. This is why we currently offer a wide range of services but also place great emphasis on processing our clients' transactions as quickly as possible," states Francesco Signorio, founder and CEO of CIM Banque.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our Membership Onboarding Process.

In comparison with the previous month, the Swiss stock exchange recorded a double-digit growth in trades, totaling 3'143'413. This growth rate was bettered not only by the equities segment including funds (with a plus of 11.2%), but also by the ETF segment, which recorded the best result with a growth of 22.3% (74'910 trades).

Furthermore, the balance sheet of the ETF segment compared with the same period last year has grown 33.6%. A total of 21'710'320 trades were effected on 146 business days since the beginning of 2011, representing a growth of 3.3%.

ETF segment shows strong results

While turnover was slightly lower than that of the previous month with CHF 693'172 million (-3.9%), the ETF segment set the highest mark with an increase of almost 20%. Turnover in the ETF segment grew an impressive 25.1% to CHF 53'104 million year-on-year. Only the Structured Products and Warrants recorded a better result, with turnover growing by more than 39% (to CHF 32'020 million) since the beginning of the year.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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SIX Swiss Exchange increases the appeal of its bond segment: market makers in the CHF Bonds and International Bonds segments receive an extra five quotes per second (QPS) per bond segment in addition to the five free QPS they already receive as well as the QPS they have paid for.

This increased capacity in the bond segments is being made available on a temporary basis, starting on 2 August 2011 and ending on 31 July 2012. "The purpose of this measure is to offer market makers better conditions for pricing as well as achieving a rise of trading volumes in the Bond segments", commented Ueli Goldener, Head Product Management Fixed Income at SIX Swiss Exchange.

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The traditional SIX Swiss Exchange Bond Party took place on 8 July 2011 in the historical rooms of Villa Tobler in Zurich. The most important players in the Swiss bond market met to enjoy delicious food and exquisite wines with a DJ setting the atmosphere in the background. The beautiful rooms, the summerhouse and the garden proved to be the perfect location for networking, talking shop or simply enjoying the social get-together.

Ueli Goldener, Head Product Management Fixed Income at SIX Swiss Exchange, thanked the issuers, lead managers, market makers and investors for supporting the Swiss exchange. The bond segment in Switzerland can be proud of what it has attained and can boast some impressive figures to support this statement: there are more than 1,500 bonds listed in Swiss francs on the Swiss exchange, and this figure is growing annually. For example, 2011 saw a 3% increase in bond listings. The total amount of bonds issued in Swiss francs already amounts to CHF 551 billion, and SIX Swiss Exchange has thus far experienced an excellent 7% increase in turnover for 2011.

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In the second quarter of 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange posted an ETF trading turnover of CHF 21.2 billion. For the first six months of the year, the Swiss exchange generated a trading turnover of around CHF 45.8 billion, an increase of 23%. This amounted 455'973 transactions.

As at the end of June, there were 691 ETFs (including 108 in additional trading currencies) from 14 product providers listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. This corresponds to an increase of 87 products since the beginning of the year. 18 market makers are providing liquidity.

The Report is published quarterly and is available as a PDF.

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Switzerland has continuously worked its way up the Global Innovation Index. Following 7th place in 2009 and 4th place in 2010, it came in at the top this year, replacing the previous leader Iceland, which has fallen to 11th place. As in 2010, Sweden came in 2nd place, followed by Singapore, which was 7th in 2010.

The study by INSEAD eLab ranks a total of 125 countries and economies. It was carried out this year for the fourth time, and can be downloaded from a dedicated website.

"The results of the study confirm that Switzerland is an attractive business location. The country thus offers companies an excellent environment in which to operate - including SIX Swiss Exchange, which acts as a gateway to the international capital markets, enabling companies to finance their growth", commented Marco Estermann, Head Issuer Relations at SIX Swiss Exchange.

Top positions in all areas

Switzerland topped the ranking this year thanks to its consistently good ratings in all areas: the Global Innovation Index comprises the Output and Input sub-indexes, which take the results of and prerequisites for innovation into account.

In terms of input, factors within the institutional framework such as political stability, legal certainty or the conditions for establishing new companies are assessed. Quality and investment in education, research & development and infrastructure are also factored in. The Output category includes inventions, scientific findings and their propagation.

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As of today, SIX Swiss Exchange offers its growing number of participants a ground-breaking new service: SLS provides them easy access to an entirely new liquidity pool by linking them to the institutional non-displayed marketplace of Liquidnet, who became a participant of SIX Swiss Exchange today. SLS stands for SIX Swiss Exchange Liquidnet Service, highlighting the partnership that created this unique pan-European securities universe.

A new source of liquidity

The new liquidity pool created by the connection of the execution venues of SIX Swiss Exchange and Liquidnet enables trading in unrivaled sizes. While creating more liquidity in both Swiss blue chips and Swiss mid- and small-caps, SLS gives participants of SIX Swiss Exchange access to almost 3'000 European shares. Markets covered today include UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, with more countries to follow.

Reducing trading costs

SLS helps to achieve price advantages of up to 70 basis points, as orders are executed at mid-point and liquidity on SLS allows execution of large blocks. The new order type "Minimum Fill" enables the determination of minimum execution size, while negative market impact is averted as trades are only published after execution.

Easy setup

All participants of SIX Swiss Exchange are able to trade in SLS without any additional contractual agreements. They can even use their existing infrastructure to trade via the SIX Swiss Exchange Standard Trading Interface (STI) after just a few minor twitches.

Swiss safety

SLS provides a safe and secure trading environment. It is not only regulated by FINMA, but also governed by the SIX Swiss Exchange Rule Book and Directives, while the market control unit of the exchange monitors trading in real-time. Clearing and settlement via SIX x-clear and LCH.Clearnet helps avoiding counterparty risk, while post-trade transparency is ensured by the immediate publication of executed trades.

Added value for participants

The launch of SLS represents a significant milestone that further establishes SIX Swiss Exchange as the independent investment network of choice. It provides participants with an increased value of their membership and offers them a new "over the exchange" (OTE) service. Furthermore, being the first in the world to pioneer such a unique service demonstrates the innovation power and customer-orientation of SIX Swiss Exchange.

For more information on this new non-displayed liquidity pool, please visit the new dedicated webpage and have a look at the special SLS-factsheet.

With over 17.2 million trades in the first half of 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland report growth of 2.3%. This comes on the back of expansion in the ETF segment, which rose by almost 31% compared with the same period a year ago. CHF-denominated bonds (+6.9%) and equities, including investment funds, ETSFs and ETPs (+2.2%) also contributed to the positive overall result.

Turnover: mixed picture

Meanwhile, turnover across all trading segments fell by 7% in the first half of 2011. Satisfyingly, however, the ETF segment was up by just under 23%, while the structured products and warrants segment was almost 43% higher. Total turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland came to CHF 607'253 million for the period.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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The advantages of ETFs - liquidity, diversification, transparency and low costs - are resulting in high growth rates. Investors benefit from the flexible and efficient platform of SIX Swiss Exchange. The listing of 24 physically replicated iShares ETFs on the SIX Swiss Exchange increases the iShares ETF offering from 48 to 72 products.

Eight of the new ETFs focus on bonds, 16 on equities. iShares is planning to bring further innovative products to the SIX Swiss Exchange. For more information on the new products and on the goals iShares has set itself, read the guest article by Dr Christian Gast, Head of iShares Switzerland and see the dedicated website of iShares.

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Yesterday at the ConventionPoint in Zurich, the ninth lunch seminar on the theme of ETFs/ETPs was held. Andreas Zingg, Head of iShares distribution in the German-speaking regions of Switzerland, will presented the possibilities for "Investing in Fixed Income ETFs with iShares". The seminar also offered a sneak preview into upcoming iShares listings of new ETFs on SIX Swiss Exchange.

The next event will be held on 22 August 2011 together with Commerzbank/ComStage. Dominique Böhler, Public Distribution, will present (in German) how and when ETFs can be used successfully for investing.

Click here to find out more on the upcoming program of events.

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The IR club was founded 1992 in Zurich. It consists of companies listed on the Swiss stock exchange. All investor relations employees of the member companies are eligible to participate in the club's activities. The IR club currently has 56 member companies - including 90% of the companies listed in the SMI - accounting for some 140 investor relations professionals.

Best practice is the key to success…

Today the IR club is an interactive forum for the exchange of ideas, the discussion of current IR issues and the development of practical solutions. The club also aims to establish and promote contacts between club members and investors, asset managers and financial analysts both in Switzerland and abroad, as well as to promote the interests of investor relations professionals among listed companies.

Regular events

To achieve these goals, the IR club hosts four events a year to which all IR professionals of the members companies are invited. Specific themes are presented by selected speakers, followed by an open discussion. Providing an environment to build a network of IR contacts and exchange ideas in an informal setting is another essential feature of these events. In addition, the club regularly undertakes member surveys on IR issues of interest to the member companies.

If you wish to contact the IR club you can find the contact details on its website.

In a guest column (available in German only) in the latest issue of "10x10", the Swiss ETF Newsletter, Alain Picard, Head Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, writes about the characteristics of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs). Owing to various factors such as regulatory standards and the means of collateralization, they are easily distinguishable from other product categories. A synoptic table offers detailed information.

"Versatile all-rounders"

The segment for ETPs on SIX Swiss Exchange exists since November 2010. Thanks to a unique interplay between the differing advantages of ETFs and structured products, ETPs satisfy in a targeted manner investors' needs for tailor-made, passively managed investment solutions. As a result, already more than 30 products from the providers Source, Deutsche Bank, Clariden Leu and RBS are listed today on SIX Swiss Exchange.

As is the case with ETFs, ETPs can be permanently traded on the Exchange. Further investor protection is ensured by the commitment of at least one market maker to post firm bids and asks for each product, as well as by the collateralization mechanism associated with ETPs. Because ETPs are not investment funds, they are not subject to the Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA) and the approval of Finma. Instead, the products go through an admission process with SIX Exchange Regulation , an independent regulatory and supervisory body of SIX Swiss Exchange .

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The volume of assets placed in the investment funds covered by the Swiss Fund Market Statistics stood at CHF 653.6 billion in May 2011, with Swiss funds for institutional investors accounting for some CHF 231.2 billion of this figure. Due to the falling prices on the markets, assets under management depreciated in all asset classes in the month under review, dropping a total of CHF 11.8 billion.

Significant inflows of new money

What was striking last month was the significant inflows of new money into higher-yielding bond funds, coming as the result of interest rates still being at record lows. Inflows into bond funds totaled some CHF 1.3 billion. Overall, the Swiss fund market enjoyed net inflows that amounted to around CHF 876.2 million in May. All data is compiled and commented by the Swiss Funds Association SFA in a media release.

Information for investors and product providers

The Fund Market Statistics merge market data from both Lipper and Swiss Fund Data and are published on a monthly basis. Swiss Fund Data is a joint-venture of SIX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Funds Association SFA. On an internet platform operated by SIX Swiss Exchange, Swiss Fund Data provides comprehensive, unbiased information about investment funds that increase market transparency and enhance competitiveness of the Swiss investment fund industry.

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Ueli Goldener, Head Fixed Income Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, welcomed the 82 participants to the 7th SIX Swiss Exchange Bond Event at the ConventionPoint in Zurich on June 16, 2011. In his welcome address he gave a brief review of the fixed income segments at SIX Swiss Exchange and looked ahead to the future.

Steady upswing in the bond segment

Turnover of the more than 1,500 bonds denominated in Swiss francs has been very satisfactory this year, showing an increase of 6%. Bonds issued by the Swiss Confederation account for 50% of turnover and Swiss mortgage bonds for 15%. In addition, there has already been a further 3% increase in Swiss franc bonds listed on the Swiss exchange this year.

14 market makers set bid and offer prices for the more than 5,000 bonds traded on SIX Swiss Exchange. New market makers for Swiss franc bonds this year are Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. and Raiffeisen Switzerland, while JP Morgan Securities Ltd., London, has joined the market makers for international bonds.

Many high-caliber speakers

The presentations covered a wide range of practical topics. Alongside current interest rate trends and bond ratings, they looked at the depreciation of the euro and the strength of the Swiss franc. Speakers came both from Swiss banks such as UBS, Credit Suisse and ZKB as well as from foreign institutions including Bantleon, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP Paribas, Barclays Bank and BlackRock Investment Management.

This cast of top-notch speakers, who share their specialist knowledge at the SIX Swiss Exchange Bond Event, attract an audience of specialists allowing discussions to be held at a very professional level. That makes the Bond Event a perfect networking opportunity in the Swiss fixed income universe.

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In a guest column (in German) in the latest issue of "B2B", the Swiss magazine for collective and structured investments, Alain Picard, Head of Product Management, discusses the new "Market Quality Metrics" (MQM), service offered free of charge by SIX Swiss Exchange on its website .

"Comparative advantage"

This new statistics tool ensures greater comparability and increased pre-trade transparency in the ETF segment as it allows investors to compare the average spread values of the individual products on a daily basis. These values are historically traceable and can be downloaded and analyzed retrospectively as Excel files.

The "Market Quality Metrics" service is the most recent example of the numerous measures and innovations implemented by SIX Swiss Exchange support growth of the ETF segment. MQM will help SIX Swiss Exchange improve its trading conditions and consolidate its position as one of the leading ETF trading venues in Europe.

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As the first exchange in the world, SIX Swiss Exchange will implement X-stream INET. This new system by NASDAQ OMX combines the benefits of its existing platform X-stream and INET. The upgrade will result in significantly enhanced capacity and reduced latency in all product segments for the benefit of all market participants. Going forward, latency times of the trading platform SWXess should drop to two-digit microsecond figures.

Setting a new standard

"We have always believed that a high-performance and multi-functional trading platform remains a key differentiator in order to attract new liquidity", explains Christian Katz, CEO at SIX Swiss Exchange. "This upgrade to X-stream INET allows us to leverage the most advanced trading technology in the world into our unique market structure."

The completion of the system upgrade is scheduled for Q1 2012. As SWXess already runs on X-stream, compatibility is very high. Adjustments for clients of SIX Swiss Exchange will therefore be minimal.

Extension of a reliable partnership

NASDAQ OMX has been the technology partner of SIX Swiss Exchange since 2005, marked by the introduction of the fully integrated trading platform SWXess in 2009. The upgrade to the new system X-stream INET now marks the extension of this successful partnership at the benefit of all members of SIX Swiss Exchange.

SIX Swiss Exchange is the reference market for all Swiss securities. With average trades in SMI securities being more than twice the size of those on alternative trading platforms, no other trading platform for Swiss securities offers the same high quality order-book. Via the free web-based Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM), order-book quality can be monitored and compared with that of rival trading platforms.

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The International Capital Market Association's Annual General Meeting and Conference is a prominent and popular feature of the financial markets calendar. ICMA's 43rd Annual Conference was held in Paris on 25 to 27 May 2011 and attended by over 600 delegates.

SIX Swiss Exchange was exhibiting together with SIX Telekurs France, successfully using the opportunity to strengthen contacts with existing and potential customers. The International Capital Market Association represents a broad range of capital market interests including global investment banks and smaller regional banks, as well as asset managers, exchanges, central banks, law firms and other professional advisers.

Wide range of speakers and topics

Besides the keynote speeches, this year's edition featured several Panel Discussions about topics such as "Coordinated global securities regulation: Is it needed and can it be achieved?", "Future of capital markets", "Liquid and transparent markets", "The asset management industry: where is it heading?" and "A resilient market infrastructure: what more needs to be done?". Webcasts of the Keynote speeches and panel sessions are available to view on a dedicated website. Presentations which were given at the conference are also available as PDFs on the website of ICMA.

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Alain Picard, Head of Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, writes in a guest article published in the 46th edition of the "Swiss Derivatives Review" about the success story of Exchange Traded Funds. The first ETFs on SIX Swiss Exchange were listed already in September 2000.

Ever since, the Swiss exchange has actively contributed to the development of this product segment with many innovative services. For example, providers are able to list their products simultaneously in serveral different currencies since June 2010. Furthermore, the service "Market Quality Metrics" makes a significant contribution towards transparency, as investors can check the pre-trade data for all ETFs.

Record growth

In more than ten years since the listing of the first two products, the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange has repeatedly set new benchmarks. The average annual growth in the number of products between 2002 and 2009 was more than 44%. In 2010. And in 2010, trading volumes reached a record level of CHF 71'689 billion. If you want to find out more about the latest data, please have a look at our report "ETF Quarterly Statistics".

As at the start of June 2011, the offer has risen to almost 700 products. In this year alone, so far more than 70 new ETFs have been listed. You can find an overview on our website.

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Since the start of the year, there has been a steady increase in the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse, with an overall year-on-year growth for the same period of 3.3%. With 3'159'327 transactions in May, month-on-month growth was an excellent 16.4%. The best performance in both periods was posted by the ETF segment: the 394'741 transactions since the start of 2011 represents an increase of almost 36%.

Turnover: one clear driver

Turnover in the structured products and warrants segment has grown by more than 44% since the start of the year, reaching CHF 25'183 million as at the end of May. The ETF segment also performed well, with turnover up by more than 30% to CHF 39'716 million. The CHF bonds segment posted a small increase of 5.8%. Overall, all trading segments combined were able to post a month-on-month growth in turnover, corresponding to an increase of 16%.

New companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange

Compared to May 2010, last month not only saw an increase of almost 47% in the number of listed ETFs and more than 56% in the number of listed structured products and warrants, but the equities segment of SIX Swiss Exchange welcomed two new companies: Autoneum and Hochdorf.

Key equity indices continue to rise

The key equity indices continued to be on the rise since the start of the year: both the SMI® blue chip index and the broad-based SPI® gained 0.2% in the past month, whichcorresponds to a performance of +1.8% (6,554.7 points) and +4.0% (6,023.0 points) respectively per end of May, while at 1,022.3 points the SLI Swiss Leader Index® PR has gained 0.5%.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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The eighth lunch seminar on the theme of ETFs/ETPs was held yesterday at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Michael John Lyte, Managing Director of Source, spoke about developments in the area of commodity-linked Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) and the growth of assets held in these vehicles.

Michael John Lyte pointed out the complexity of investments in commodities due to the lack of correlation between spot and futures returns, for example. That is why investors looking to add commodities exposure to their portfolios should understand not only the possibilities within this asset class, but also how providers are aspiring to provide a more attractive investment product.

The next event will be held on 27 June 2011 together with iShares. Andreas Zingg, Head Distribution Exchange Traded Funds at iShares in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, will present about the topic "Fixed Income Instrumente kaufen - Mit iShares ETFs, leichter getan als gesagt!" (in German).

Click here to find out more on the upcoming program of events.

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Today, another participant has joined SIX Swiss Exchange: with the arrival of GETCO Europe Limited, their total number reaches 124. GETCO's range of services includes amongst others electronic market making, managing risk and execution services.

Founded in 1999 as Global Electronic Trading Company, GETCO is one of the pioneers of electronic trading. Today, GETCO has expanded its activities over three continents and is active in over 50 markets in North and South America, Europe and Asia, with offices in Chicago, New York, London and Singapore.

Gregor Braun, Head of Member Acquisition at SIX Swiss Exchange comments: "We welcome GETCO Europe Limited at SIX Swiss Exchange and wish them successful trading on our high-performance platform SWXess. Getco is already our 10th new participant in 2011, and we are looking forward to welcoming further new members."

Further information about GETCO Europe Limited is available on its website.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our Membership Onboarding Process.

STOXX adopted a distinctive new logo and updated its corporate design at the end of February 2011, also relaunching its website. At the same time, the new look has been accompanied by many substantive changes, so that STOXX is ideally placed to continue growing its global business.

As well as redesigning its visual identity, STOXX has expanded its product range. It has launched more than 1,200 new indices with the introduction of the STOXX Global Index family covering global equity markets. This internationalization will allow STOXX to meet its clients' needs even mor effectively and deliver added value and choice to both investors and product providers.

Clear classification system

Four separate index classifications have been introduced to reflect the extended product range and ensure optimal transparency:

• STOXX: all standard equity indices
• STOXX+: for investment strategies and themes
• iSTOXX: flexible, modular concept for individual solutions
• STOXX Customized Indices: specifically developed for clients

Greatest possible choice

STOXX indices provide a comprehensive set of indices covering entire markets and blue chips as well as different regions, sub-regions or supersectors. For the first time, the offering also includes a set of innovative, rule-based strategy indices for all markets, including risk control indices and short and leveraged indices. The offer now caters to both traditional and more sophisticated investment strategies.

Distribution of SMI indices

As well as its own indices, STOXX markets and distributes the full set of index families from SIX Swiss Exchange (SMI®, SPI® etc.) and Deutsche Börse (DAX, MDAX etc.). SIX Group SA and Deutsche Börse AG became the sole owners of STOXX Limited in 2009 following the acquisition of the shares held by Dow Jones & Company.

A brochure provides further information on STOXX. If you have any questions, please contact the department or .

In April 2011, the category equity funds enjoyed the biggest inflows (plus CHF 2.0 bn), followed by bond funds (plus CHF 1.6 bn). Outflows were registered by money market and and asset allocation funds. Despite net inflows of CHF 2.7 bn - an increase compared to the previous month - the assets under management fell back slightly by CHF 886 mn. Reasons are a difficult market environment and the continuing pressure on the USD and EUR.

Overall, fund volumes in Switzerland at the end of April 2011 stand at CHF 659'982 mn. The leading provider on the Swiss fund market is UBS, with a volume of CHF 153'356 mn and 23.24% market share, followed by Credit Suisse (CHF 98'619 mn, 14.94%.) and Pictet (CHF 47'098 mn, 7.14%). All data is compiled and commented by the Swiss Funds Association SFA in a media release.

Information for investors and product providers

The Fund Market Statistics are the product of a new cooperation that merges market data from both Lipper and Swiss Fund Data. Since March 2011, they are published on a monthly basis. Swiss Fund Data is a joint-venture of SIX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Funds Association SFA. On an internet platform operated by SIX Swiss Exchange, Swiss Fund Data provides comprehensive, unbiased information about investment funds that increase market transparency and enhance competitiveness of the Swiss investment fund industry.

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After Autoneum was listed on 13 May 2011, another company has joined SIX Swiss Exchange: shares in Hochdorf Holding AG (HOCN) started trading today at CHF 113.00. This corresponds to a stock market capitalization of CHF 101.7 million.

The foodstuff company is domiciled in Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne and sells its products in 80 countries throughout the world. Hochdorf is listed in the Domestic Standard segment and is included in the SPI® and SPI EXTRA® indices.

Trading opened to the sound of the stock exchange bell

The stock exchange bell was put to use once again for this special occasion. Hans-Rudolf Schurter, Chairman of the board of Hochdorf Holding AG, and Damian Henzi, CEO of Hochdorf Holding AG rang the bell to start the trading day.

Hans-Rudolf Schurter expects to see improved access to the capital market as a result of the listing. "Hochdorf is a very traditional Swiss company. Listing on SIX Swiss Exchange is therefore an obvious move. Our baby food business has the potential to grow enormously and we will require additional financing to do so."

High level of attention from investors

As a stock exchange with a strong international orientation, SIX Swiss Exchange offers Hochdorf a high level of visibility and with it the best conditions to grow beyond Switzerland's borders. Furthermore, its proactive support makes the Swiss stock exchange a reliable partner for all listed companies.

"In the same way that Hochdorf focuses on its clients and consumers, the needs of our issuers are the top priority for us. Their satisfaction with the service we provide is the measure of our accomplishment and efficiency", said Christian Katz, CEO of SIX Swiss Exchange.

Group of consultant banks expanded

The Neue Helvetische Bank was founded in January 2011 and is a participant on the Swiss stock exchange since 28 February. As it celebrates its debut as a Lead Manager with the listing of Hochdorf, this young company, which offers asset management, financial consulting, corporate finance and research, expands the group of consultant banks supporting new admissions to SIX Swiss Exchange.

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Today, the first event of the ETF-Tour 2011 was held in Basel. Further stops include St.Gallen (17. May), Bern (18. May) and Zurich (30. May). The ETF-Tour across Switzerland is already organized for the fifth time by financialmedia AG. The evening events (held in German) focus on the success story of ETFs.

Presentation by SIX Swiss Exchange

The Swiss Exchange is the official "Event Partner" of the ETF-Tour. Alain Picard, Head of Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, is giving a presentation about the topic "Wachstumsstarkes ETF-Segment - Was Anleger über den Börsenhandel wissen sollten".

Further presentations deal with current subjects and market trends as well as ETF investments in an inflationary environment. An panel discussion with a local expert asset manager, moderated by the newspaper "Finanz und Wirtschaft" concludes each event.

The website of the event offers additional information about the program and speakers and the possibility to register.

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Today, Autoneum Holding AG (AUTN) was listed on SIX Swiss Exchange as an independent company. Formerly the division Automotive Systems of Rieter, Autoneum is a sector-focused company that supplies the world's leading vehicle manufacturers in Europe, North and South America, and Asia (excluding Japan) with acoustic comfort and heat protection products.

At the beginning of the first day's trading, its share price was CHF 110.50, which corresponds to a stock market capitalization of CHF 516 million. Autoneum Holding AG is part of the SPI® and SPI EXTRA® indices and is listed in the "Main Standard", which is aimed at international investors with respect to accounting standards and transparency criteria.

Historic change of strategy

The company's listing comes one month after the 120th general meeting of Rieter Holding AG, at which shareholders voted to spin off the Automotive Systems division. The aim is to make Autoneum more flexible in terms of strategy and enable it to position itself more clearly in its markets, thus fully utilizing its growth potential.

SIX Swiss Exchange: Gateway to the capital market

By being listing on SIX Swiss Exchange, Autoneum Holding AG gains access to an experienced and financially strong group of international investors. "As a proactive partner, we support our issuers by carrying out various additional services on their behalf, for example providing individual assistance with investor relations," commented Marco Estermann, Head of Issuer Relations at SIX Swiss Exchange. "We also provide up-to-date information on the trading and liquidity of their securities and give issuers access to SIX Swiss Exchange's unique network of contacts."

For more information on the range of services offered by SIX Swiss Exchange to issuers, please visit our website.

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The sixth lunch seminar on the theme of ETFs/ETPs was held yesterday at the ConventionPoint in Zurich. Sushil Krishan of UniCredit gave a speech on the topic of market making. As part of his presentation, he set out the various perspectives of a market maker in the primary and secondary markets, explaining how to correctly compare and value ETFs.

Sushil also spoke about the impacts of crises on spreads and liquidity and finished by giving his forecast for the future development of the European ETF. Click here to read his guest article, which was published by SIX Swiss Exchange. UniCredit Bank AG is currently a market maker for 61 ETFs listed on the Swiss Exchange.

The next event will be held on 23 May 2011 together with Swiss & Global Asset Management. Stephan Müller, Director of Product Management & Development will give a presentation entitled "Attractiveness of physical precious metals during the current market turbulence".

Click here to find out more on the upcoming program of events.

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Although the segment Equities including Funds + ETSFs + ETPs recorded lower revenues year-on-year in April 2011 with CHF 65'121 million (April 2010: 83'755), the number of trades since the beginning of the year is up by 6.1% (83 trading days in both 2010 and 2011). Across all trading segments the increase even amounts to 6.6%, with the ETF segment standing out due to its increase of 48.6%, followed by the CHF bonds segment with 11.6%.

Continued growth in the ETF segment

The ETF segment showed the most positive development year-on-year with revenues of CHF 6'746 million (April 2010: 5'097) and 68'240 trades (April 2010: 54'842). Since the beginning of 2011, revenues in this segment are up 43.6% in comparison with the same period last year. Meanwhile, the number of products on SIX Swiss Exchange increased by 27 new ETFs listed in April.

Another positive development was recorded in the revenue of the structured products and warrants segment, which grew to CHF 4'984 million (April 2010: 3'687) despite a drop in the actual number of trades. With 16'417 products listed since the beginning of the year, this segment saw a growth of 31.9% year-on-year.

Equity indices: Positive development

The key equity indices made up ground on March 2011: The SMI® blue chip index closed at 6'539.7 points (up 2.9% on previous month, up 1.6% on end-2010), the SLI Swiss Leader Index® PR at 1'039.3 points (up 2.3% on previous month, up 2.2% on end-2010) and the broad-based SPI® at 6'013.0 points (up 3.8%on previous month, up 3.8% on end-2010).

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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Today, SIX Swiss Exchange welcomes its 122. Participant: Banque Syz & Co. SA. The Swiss banking group is exclusively dedicated to asset management through the three business lines Private Banking, Institutional Asset Management and Investment funds. "The sharp increase of our domestic business has prompted us to become a full member of SIX Swiss Exchange, as well as the progress in technology which facilitated the integration with our systems", states Ricardo Payro, Head of Communication at Banque SYZ & Co. SA.

With presences in Geneva, Zurich, Lugano and Locarno, as well as abroad in Milan, Rome, Madrid, Bilbao, London, Luxembourg, Vienna, Nassau and Hong Kong, Banque Syz & Co. SA provides services for private investors, institutions and independent asset managers.

Broad range of services

The services provided by Banque Syz & Co. SA include discretionary asset management, hedge fund portfolios and active advisory services, asset management in a variety of asset classes as well as advice, fund selection and portfolio management in alternative asset classes. Furthermore, its range of services to independent asset managers includes investment recommendations, trading on all financial markets and direct access to the banking IT system of Banque Syz & Co. SA.

Further information about Banque Syz & Co. SA is available on its website.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our Membership Onboarding Process.

State Street Global Advisors is continuing to expand its ETF presence in Europe, becoming the 14th issuer in the ETF segment of SIX Swiss Exchange. Twelve new SPDR® ETFs have been listed by the industry pioneer, which launched the world's first ETF in 1993. More products are set to follow.

In addition to the SPDR® MSCI Europe ETF and SPDR® MSCI Europe Small Cap ETF, State Street Global Advisors has listed ten ETFs based on European sector indices. With ETF assets of over USD 260 billion as at the end of March 2011, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the world.

In an interview, Rochus Appert, Head of Intermediary Business at State Street Global Advisors, introduces the ETF business of SPDR. He describes the newly listed products and gives his estimate on the ETF market situation in Switzerland. Further information on all the SPDR® ETFs is available on a dedicated website.

Following the addition of these twelve new SPDR® products, SIX Swiss Exchange's ETF segment now comprises a record amount of 675 ETFs, of which 108 are listed in an additional currency; ETF issuers have always been able to list their products in a number of difference currencies. Commerzbank AG, which now provides liquidity for 271 products on SIX Swiss Exchange, acts as the market maker for the SPDR® ETFs.

Our website provides an overview of all the new products on SIX Swiss Exchange.

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In 2010, the stock exchange trading turnover posted by SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland increased by 5.3%, rising to CHF 1'191.0 billion (2009: CHF 1'131.3 bn). The number of on-exchange transactions reached 35.0 million (+0.6%). This positive development was driven by not least by the several improvements introduced by the Swiss exchange in 2010.

Improvements in 2010

• Simplified rules and regulations for stock exchange participants
• Improved capacity and latency of the SWXess trading platform
• Enlarged choice of Proximity Service Providers for the fastest possible connection
• Newly launched trading segment for Exchange Traded Products (ETPs)
• Increased market transparency with online tool Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM)

Solution-oriented interaction - dialog with clients

The Annual Report 2010 once again contains the Group report, reports from each of the business areas, reports on sustainability, supervision and regulation, the balance sheet and income statement as well as the section on corporate governance. Furthermore, ten double-sided pictures showing clients and SIX Group employees illustrate success stories from all areas of the company. This dialog with clients can be viewed online.

The printed version of the Annual Report is available in English, German and French. The detailed version of the Financial Report is available in English and PDF format only. Both publications are available on the website of SIX Group .

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The current edition of the Swiss Biotech Report analyses the reasons for this sector's impressive track record. It particularly highlights how the intensive ongoing research forms the basis for successful innovation. The authors have compiled a benchmark of the industry over a period of ten years and provided a multidimensional evaluation of its development.

The new Swiss Biotech Report reveals the ways in which innovation has advanced and how the Swiss Confederation has supported it through its programs, providing clear "takeaways" on how industrial and financial markets have used the steady influx of ideas and capital to foster new economic growth.

Contribution of SIX Swiss Exchange

The Swiss Biotech Report is published annually by a steering committee comprised of representatives from industry, commerce and the federal government. SIX Swiss Exchange contributed an article providing a 10-year retrospective on a strong hub for life sciences.

The author Andrea von Bartenwerffer, Senior Relationship Manager of Issuer Relations, presents how Switzerland has positioned itself among European countries as the home-base of choice for life sciences companies, with the highest per capita concentration of biotech companies on a global scale.

Have a look at the article and the complete Swiss Biotech Report 2011.

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Markit has been recognized as the first Approved Trade Data Monitor (TDM) for SIX Swiss Exchange. This agreement provides further flexibility for foreign participants of SIX Swiss Exchange, designated as "Remote Members".

Remote Members have an obligation to report their off-exchange (OTC) trades in Swiss securities admitted for trading on a Swiss stock exchange. Previously this obligation could only be fulfilled by sending activity to the reporting office of SIX Swiss Exchange. Following the agreement with Markit on 18 April 2011, they are also able to report OTC trades via the Markit BOAT platform.

This flexibility allows Remote Members of SIX Swiss Exchange to choose the platform for their trade reporting needs. This simplifies their duty to comply with the Reporting Obligations in Swiss securities.

Markit BOAT Data is published to the market via different data solution providers, including SIX Financial Information . It can be accessed via the modular display service Telekurs iD.

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With immediate effect, Scoach is publishing a monthly report containing useful details and topical issues relating to the Swiss market for structured products. The easy-to-read charts and tables provide a wealth of information on price movements, trends and other changes across the whole structured products market. This is the only place where trading volumes, trends in trading turnover and Scoach admissions are published in full detail. It is also a useful reference source for buy-back statistics and derivatives trading turnover by issuer, or for obtaining an overview of structured products in banks' safekeeping accounts.

Information at first hand!

The latest edition (in German only) is available at www.scoach.ch/marketreport at all times. Registered Scoach users will be emailed the report automatically every month. You can subscribe to the market report on our website.

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In the first quarter of 2011, the Swiss stock exchange posted a record ETF trading turnover of CHF 24'597 million, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 47% and amounting to 244'934 transactions. As at the end of March, there were 626 ETFs (including 106 in additional trading currencies) from 13 product providers listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. This amounts to an increase of 22 products since the beginning of the year. Currently there are 18 market makers providing liquidity.

The Report is published quarterly and is available as a PDF.

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In his guest contribution, Sushil Krishan from UniCredit compares the development of assets under management and the number of listed products in both the United States and Europe. He talks about the varying stock exchange landscapes and the legal frameworks in place, providing both an analysis of the impact the local dominance of stock exchanges has in Europe and an outlook for the future development of the Exchange Traded Product segment.

Read the complete guest article.

UniCredit Bank AG is currently Market Maker for 61 ETFs listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Starting today, the news page of SIX Swiss Exchange appears with a completely new look and feel. If yo visit the site for the first time, we hope that it will appeal to you. If you already received the exchange's previous Newsletters, you'll see that we've implemented many of the changes you suggested in various surveys.

Visibility and network

There are many good reasons for redesigning the news page. Thanks to the prominent presentation of the top headlines, as well as the use of images and webcasts, it not only offers a lot more "eye candy" but also numerous advances in terms of its structure and content: the hierarchical layout of the news emphasizes the articles of greatest relevance to you so you can quickly find the most important information. Moreover, the categorization of the news by target audience - Investors, Participants, and Issuers - reflects the concept of the entire website, thereby easing your access the news relevant to you. As of today, the news site also serves as a central editorial platform that introduces you to the products, services and innovations of the Exchange and its partners. At the same time, you get efficiently connected with the information most relevant to you, which you can now share more easily with your partners.

Tailor-made information

Compared to the previous PDF-based "Exchange", "ETF" and "Bonds" newsletters that have been discontinued in conjunction with the re-launch of the news page, the communications of the Exchange are now noticeably more dynamic, up-to-date and intriguing. This flexibility, which enables the publication of short news as well as more lengthy background articles, interviews and guest contributions, means more variety - combined with consistently high editorial quality. Instead of a quarterly compendium of articles, the online news are published continually. What's more, you can also subscribe to the news as an RSS feed, be it individually for each target-group section, or everything at once - whatever your needs might be.

Your opinion is important to us

We want to keep on improving the news page, so we look forward to any feedback you may want to give us. If you'd like to tell us what you really think about the redesigned news page or pass on your suggestions and wishes, simply send us an E-Mail. You'll be helping us to make the news page even more suited to your needs. Thanks a lot!

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The company, whose main office is located in London, engages in proprietary trading over various markets in Europe. Spire Europe Limited is affiliated with Tower Research Capital LLC, a New York based financial services firm specializing in quantitative trading and investment strategies. We wish Spire Europe Limited successful trading on SIX Swiss Exchange.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our Membership Onboarding Process.

Today, SIX Swiss Exchange welcomes its 121. participant. All Options is an international market maker providing liquidity to major financial markets. Headquartered in Amsterdam, All Options operates from offices in Curaçao and the People's Republic of China. As a market maker and trader on key exchanges, now including SIX Swiss Exchange, All Options believes in leveraging its insight into the markets and making intelligent trading decisions facilitated by cutting-edge technology. We wish All Options International B.V. successful trading on the high-performance platform of SIX Swiss Exchange.

Further information about All Options International B.V. is available on its website.

Interested in becoming a trading participant? Find out more about our Membership Onboarding Process.

Trading in March 2011 was marked by a relatively high degree of volatility. The net result was a 19.8% increase in turnover and a 17.8% rise in the number of transactions compared to the previous month. Overall, turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Suisse amounted to CHF 122.5 billion, while 3'608'649 trades were executed during the month.

Record results in the ETF segment

This led to new records being set in the ETF segment: reflecting an increase of close to 58%, turnover hit an all-time high of CHF 10.4 billion. A new record was also reached in the total number of trades, with 91'102. Taken as a whole, the Shares incl. Funds + ETSFs + ETPs segment registered a month-on-month gain of 18.1% in the number of executed trades (3'320'545), while total turnover increased by 16.6% to CHF 90.4 billion. Structured Products and Warrants also gained ground: turnover and trading volume exceeded their prior-month levels by 31.4% and 13.4%, respectively, to reach CHF 5.7 billion - the highest monthly reading since October 2008 - on a total of 146'584 transactions.

More detailed information in this regard can be accessed online in our statistical monthly report. An overview of order book quality at SIX Swiss Exchange is reflected in the Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM).

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Following up on the tremendous success of the Exchange Traded Product Days in recent years, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland organized two more of these events in March 2011 in Geneva and Zurich. Once again the ETPDs sparked great interest, as can be seen in the number of participants: more than 300 investors visited the ETPDs in those two cities.

Outstanding venue for specialized know-how

Speaking at these events were select representatives from the financial industry. At special seminars, they lectured on the latest market know-how relating to ETFs, ETPs and structured products. The objective was to offer professional investors a practice-oriented forum in which they could gain information on current product innovations and investment themes. Greatly appreciated was the Economic Roundtable in Zurich, which afforded an outstanding platform for all those in attendance. Marco Curti, Head of Research at Zürcher Kantonalbank, Jan Poser, Chief Economist and Head of Research at Bank Sarasin & Cie, and Thomas Steinemann, Chief Strategist at Bank Vontobel AG, fielded questions from the investors. And to round things out, keynote speaker Dr. Patrick Raaflaub, Director of FINMA, entranced the visitors with his topic of "TBTF - too big to fail - the standpoint of FINMA".

Further information, as well as all available presentations of the various speakers in Zurich and Geneva, can be accessed on the ETPD website.

Background

The Exchange Traded Product Days (ETPDs) are events conducted at regular intervals with the objective of offering professional investors a forum where they can gain information on the latest product innovations and investment themes. This venue is also intended as a means of fostering face-to-face dialogue between investors and product providers. The focus of ETPD events is on publicly listed investment vehicles such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) and structured products.

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With a whole series of strong location factors in place, Switzerland offers optimal overall conditions for cleantech companies. This is emphasized by a study of the World Energy Council in which Switzerland was ranked first in a comparison of countries in regard to their energy and climate policies: when it comes to sustainable practices, Switzerland is top notch. The sensitivity of its population to the notions of sustainability and environmental awareness are illustrated in the country's high standard of living, environmental quality and low levels of pollution.

Leading innovation power

Moreover, Switzerland counts among the world's leading nations with regard to innovation power and infrastructure. As regards global competitiveness Switzerland is ranked among the top countries each year, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011. A key factor is the long tradition of Swiss scientists and engineers in technologies relevant to the environment. Furthermore, Switzerland is an ideal location for international cleantech businesses because of its innovation-driven economy and its openness toward the rest of the world.

Gateway to the capital market

The Swiss financial center is very attractive for companies in search of capital both in Switzerland and abroad. It is well structured, closely interconnected and yet geared to international standards. Domestic banks are known to have strong funding and placing power.
Through its products and services, SIX Swiss Exchange makes a significant contribution to a healthy financial center by providing an efficient, well-functioning capital market. It is the gateway for both Swiss and foreign companies to the international and domestic capital market, where each listed firm benefits from a high degree of visibility. A public offering and listing of securities on SIX Swiss Exchange affords a company access to a highly experienced and financially potent circle of international investors. Based on the Swiss economic structure the cleantech sector enjoys a high level of attention in the investing community, and Swiss investors have been among the pioneers in this sector.

First-ever Swiss Cleantech Report

More information can be found in the first-ever Swiss Cleantech Report: SIX Swiss Exchange has joined forces with a wide array of prominent institutions from the fields of research, commerce and public service to compile and publish this comprehensive report that sheds light on all aspects of Switzerland's cleantech sector from various vantage points.

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By choosing CorvilNet, SIX Swiss Exchange is able to monitor and plan capacity and latency performance levels in real-time, allowing further optimization and improvement of its environment for low-latency performance. Providing its trading members with the highest levels of efficiency and transparency is a continuous commitment of SIX Swiss Exchange.

Corvil's Latency Management System allows full latency monitoring of service provider performance, client order flow and analysis of market data quality. At the application level CorvilNet is being used to report on the execution speed of customer order flow, including trade-to-tick and order-to-acknowledgement. More information is available in the press release on the website of Corvil.

Kontakt

The free web-based tool Equity Liquidity Matrix (ELM), originally launched in November 2010, now covers the entire universe of SPI securities. This expansion allows SIX Swiss Exchange to further increase market transparency. Investors, market participants and companies listed and traded on SIX Swiss Exchange are provided with a real-time overview of liquidity levels of Swiss Blue Chips as well as Mid & Small Cap securities.

Order book quality highlighted

Equity Liquidity Matrix provides a global view of five standard liquidity measures. Four of the five measures are focusing on pre-trade data i.e. the measurements of order book constellations before a trade is executed. It includes a ranking of the order books for several index aggregates and their individual constituents that are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange and at least one MTF. All data is aggregated daily at individual securities level. An unbiased assessment of order book quality is guaranteed by using quantitative data from a neutral provider, the Transaction Auditing Group (TAG).

Advantage SIX Swiss Exchange

As the reference market for Swiss securities, SIX Swiss Exchange is assuring liquidity across its entire spectrum of equities in order to maintain a transparent, reliable and efficient price finding mechanism. SIX Swiss Exchange is the only market operator in Europe that discloses advanced order book quality metrics of this kind free of charge.

Further information about the liquidity measures and the data aggregation can be found in the ELM Methodology Factsheet.

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The initiative "FinanzFITamine - Anlagewissen kompakt" was launched at the "Fondsmesse 2010" by SIX Swiss Exchange in association with a number of independent partner organizations. In addition to the Swiss exchange, the Swiss Funds Association (SFA), the Fund Academy, iconomix - the Swiss National Bank's training program, the Sunflower Foundation and the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland are all taking part in the initiative.

Workshop: "The Swiss stock exchange and its mechanisms"

After the overwhelming success of the first edition, SIX Swiss Exchange has renewed its commitment to the initiative in 2011: as part of FONDS'11, it held a workshop on 4 February. Rebecca Stasolla, Business Analyst at SIX Swiss Exchange, gave a presentation titled "The Swiss Stock Exchange and its mechanisms", which highlighted the path of an order and the mechanisms that ensure fair trading, investor protection and transparency. She discussed the different types of orders, and explained how the order book is structured and the matching process works. She also walked participants through the different periods of a stock exchange day, illustrating what happens in case of a "Stop Trading" when trading is interrupted.

This initiative allows SIX Swiss Exchange to use its position as a neutral pillar of the Swiss financial center to provide relevant specialist knowledge and in doing so, make a contribution to the education and training of private investors. More information on the event can be found here.

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The Swiss exchange held its first ETF/ETP Lunch today together with its partner Credit Suisse. The hour-long event at the ConventionPoint conference centre provided a wealth of topical know-how aimed at a professional audience. Alain Picard, Head of Product Management at SIX Swiss Exchange, gave an update on the development of the Exchange Traded Products segment. Thomas Merz, Head of ETFs Switzerland at Credit Suisse, then spoke on the subject "ETFs - they all replicate the same thing: an index". The lunch that followed was an excellent opportunity for networking.

A further 13 ETF/ETP Lunches will be held over the course of the year, each featuring a different product provider or market maker. Full details and programmes can be found on our website.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are investment funds and thus subject to the Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA). They have been traded on SIX Swiss Exchange since September 2000. The new Exchange Traded Products (ETP) segment was launched in November last year. From a regulatory viewpoint, ETPs are collateralized, non-interest-bearing bearer debt securities. "ETPs" is in fact a collective term describing collateralized exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs). Both ETFs and ETPs have the advantage of continuous trading on the Exchange. More than 600 ETFs and 30 ETPs in six trading currencies are now listed on the Swiss exchange.

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For the first time since the introduction of electronic trading in 1995, the trading day was opened to the sound of a stock exchange bell, in this case a classical cow bell representing the exchange's Swiss roots and values. By doing so, SIX Swiss Exchange responds to repeated requests it received from its clients.

For special opening ceremonies

The new stock exchange bell will not be used every day, but only on special occasions. This time was to mark the tenth anniversary of the non-profit organization "100 Women in Hedge Funds", which in 2011 is being celebrated at a number of different stock exchanges around the world.

As part of the event, Dr. Peter Gomez, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIX Group, spoke about the potential opportunities and threats faced by stock exchanges. The webcast provides an insight into future trends.

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From the second quarter of 2011, SIX Swiss Exchange is set to become the first stock exchange in the world to enable its participants to benefit from a unique and innovative agreement signed with Liquidnet, the institutional marketplace. Through Liquidnet, participants will have access to the leading non-displayed trading platform, with liquidity from more than 650 institutions worldwide. This will allow efficient block transactions to be carried out in both Swiss and European securities.

For more information, please refer to the media release published today.

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High-frequency or "algo" traders have caused order volumes to rise. To prevent these high volumes from having a detrimental effect on trading, the Swiss exchange takes care to ensure that the trading system and connection lines have sufficient capacity at all times. To us, this is more important than having the fastest trading platform. A fast platform may provide a small competitive advantage with regard to high-frequency trading in particular, but we believe security and stability must come first. We are not prepared to compromise on these aspects just to increase our market share slightly.

Leading through security

This principle is also the reason why we have a lead in terms of security compared with the US especially, but also relative to many of our European rivals. Our market controls actively dispel the threat of a "flash crash" like the one seen in the US in May 2010. The Exchange suspends trading, for example, if a trade is executed at a price outside the defined range around the reference price or if a price moves out of the defined range within a specific time period.

We take this responsibility very seriously because it makes a significant contribution to the stability of the Swiss financial sector. Various projects aimed at revising financial market legislation - particularly in the European Union, where the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) is currently being drafted - show that other countries wish to follow our example.

A report (in German) by the Swiss state broadcaster SF's ECO programme contains further background information on the topic of high-frequency trading.

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