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.

Contact

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 Switzerland.

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 Switzerland. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

Contact

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.

Contact

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 Switzerland 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 Switzerland. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

Contact

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.

Contact

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 Switzerland 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.

Contact

During February 2013, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland 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 Switzerland. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

Contact

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.

Download Flyer (German)

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

In January 2013, the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland. Furthermore, our website provides daily figures for volume and turnover.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

On the 250 trading days of 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

Despite the number of transactions decreasing by -2.7% compared with the previous month, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland. 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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").

Contact

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.

Contact

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 Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

In September, both turnover and number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

As the newest statistical monthly report shows, turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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

Contact

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.

Contact

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 Switzerland 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 Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

The newest statistical monthly report shows that in June 2012, turnover on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

In May 2012, the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland 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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

The lastet statistical monthly report shows low trading activity in April 2012 on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland. 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 Switzerland. 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.

Contact

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 Ltd 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 Ltd.

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

As the latest statistical monthly report shows, the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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 Switzerland.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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

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.

Contact

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 Ltd . 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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

In January 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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 Switzerland 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."

Contact

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".

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

In November 2011, a total of 3'287'776 transactions were processed at SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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 Switzerland, 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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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 .

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

Since the start of the year, there has been a steady increase in the number of transactions on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland, 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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 Ltd 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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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 .

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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!

Contact

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 Switzerland 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).

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact

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.

Contact