 | |
| Type | Stock Exchange |
|---|---|
| Location | Zürich, Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 47°22′28″N08°32′28″E / 47.37444°N 8.54111°E /47.37444; 8.54111 |
| Founded | Geneva: 1850 (1850) Basel: 1866 Zürich: 1873 Current form: 1993 |
| Owner | SIX Group |
| Key people | Bjørn Sibbern (Head Exchanges) Jos Dijsselhof (CEO SIX Group) Thomas Wellauer (Chairman SIX Group) |
| Currency | Swiss franc |
| Market cap | CHF 1.6 trillion (2018)[1] |
| Indices | SMI,SPI,SLI,SBI,SXI,SARON |
| Website | www.six-group.com |
SIX Swiss Exchange (formerlySWX Swiss Exchange), based inZürich, isSwitzerland's principalstock exchange (the other beingBX Swiss). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades othersecurities such as Swissgovernment bonds andderivatives such asstock options.
SIX Swiss Exchange is completely owned bySIX Group, an unlisted public limited company itself owned by around 120 national and foreign financial institutions.[2][non-primary source needed]
The exchange in its current state was founded in 1993 by merging theGeneva Stock Exchange, theBasel Stock Exchange and the Zürich stock exchange into theVerein Schweizerische Effektenbörse (German for "Swiss Securities Exchanges Association"), publicly known in English asSwiss Exchange.[3] The newly created association took over trading in 1995. It was the first stock exchange in the world to incorporate a fully automated trading, clearing and settlement system.
The association was renamed SWX Swiss Exchange in 1999.[4] In 2002, the association was changed to apublic limited company called SWX Swiss Exchange AG. In July 2004, it rejected a merger proposal fromDeutsche Börse, which analysts viewed as potentially beneficial for small companies listed on SWX Swiss Exchange. In 2008, SWX Swiss Exchange merged with SIS Group andTelekurs into the new SIX Group, and was renamed as SIX Swiss Exchange, which is still its name as of 2025[update].
SIX Swiss Exchange maintains several major indices. The most known index is the SMI, orSwiss Market Index, which consists of the 20 largest and most liquid companies of the SPI. The SPI, orSwiss Performance Index, contains more than 200 companies listed on the exchange that meet requirements. The SLI, orSwiss Leader Index, is a capped index with some of the largest 30 companies. The SBI, orSwiss Bond Index, tracks obligations emitted inSwiss francs. Themarket capitalization of all companies listed at SIX Swiss Exchange amounted in 2018 to 1.6 trillion Swiss francs, making it one of the top exchanges in the world by capitalization.[5]
On 23 August 2023, the company formedEuroCTP as a joint venture with 13 other bourses, in an effort to provide aconsolidated tape for theEuropean Union, as part of theCapital Markets Union proposed by theEuropean Commission.
The first exchanges in Switzerland were created locally in major Swiss cities throughout Switzerland, with the authorization of theCantonal authorities.Geneva paved the way in the year 1850, when theSociété des agents de change réunis (English:United Brokers Association) was founded. Itstrading floor was opened in 1855 and approved by theGrand Council of Geneva in 1856.[6] TheBasler Börse followed in 1866 or 1876 (sources disagree) inBasel, as well as another one inZürich in 1873.[6] TheBerne exchange, which still exists today, was founded in 1884. Smaller exchanges were also created inLausanne in 1873, inSt. Gallen in 1887 and inNeuchâtel in 1905.[4][6] The exchanges were subject by the Cantons to avalue added tax.[6]
During theFirst World War, all Swiss exchanges were closed, with the exception ofbond trading in the Geneva exchange. Thedepression of 1920–21 was followed by a bull market in the 1920s, during which a new exchange building (alte Börse, German for "old exchange") was constructed in Zürich at Bleicherweg 5, nearParadeplatz. The building is still standing, but no longer used as an exchange.
After theGreat Depression of the 1930s, a federal banking law was introduced. This law is still in effect today and, in its form as of 2020, requires permission by theFINMA to do banking activities, as well as due diligence andbanking secrecy. An exchange law was also discussed, but not introduced. Finally, Swiss exchanges were required to unite under a securities exchange association in order to set up a registration office, so that theSwiss National Bank could have the desired influence.
After theSecond World War, banking fees for trades on exchanges were unified in a broker conference. In the middle of the 1950s, the revenues of the exchanges reached new highs as in times before or between the wars until 1929. This development continued until theKennedy Slide of 1962, which was triggered by measures against the economic slowdown, the New York crash, and theCuban Missile Crisis.
Following thederegulation and the termination of theBretton Woods System (fixed exchange rates) by theUnited States, in the 1970s, a fundamental transformation of theeconomy and of the financial landscape started, which is still ongoing today. Fluctuating exchange rates carried new risks for the economy and a need forhedging solutions arose. Financederivatives were introduced as a response to this need and in 1973, theChicago Board Options Exchange was created as an exchange that only handles derivatives. With theoil crisis of 1974, the economy went through the biggest after-war recession since 1931. In Switzerland, the oil shock led to such a rush on investment money that it was considered to close the exchanges.
TheGeneva Stock Exchange, theBasel Stock Exchange and the Zürich stock exchange merged into SWX Swiss Exchange in 1993.[3] In 1995, the SIX Swiss Exchange became the first stock exchange to fully automate trading, clearing, and settlement proceses.[7] On 16 August 1995, the closing bells rang for the last time on the trading floors, ending an era spanning more than a century. They were superseded with the world's first automated trading,clearing andsettlement system.
After the international financial markets recovered from the1997/1998 Asian crisis and the1998 Russian crisis, there was a period of two years of lasting bull market from October 1998. This bull market was mainly driven by thenew economy boom and transition of this time. However, the boom was more limited on Swiss stock indices, since they are dominated by pharmaceutical, food and financial values, while Internet companies and technology companies play only a secondary role. Hence, it was only in May 2000 that theSwiss Performance Index crossed again the peak of 5,237 points that it had reached before the Russian crisis. It reached its then all-time high of 5,770 points on 23 August 2000. The bursting of thedot-com bubble sent stock prices down worldwide, and did not spare Swiss stock indices. The SPI entered a bear market. It had lost more than 20% from its previous peak by 22 March 2001, on which day it reached a temporary bottom.
After a short recovery phase, the SPI started to erode continuously from May 2001. The9/11 attacks accelerated this evolution, started with the bursting of the dot-com bubble, further. The SPI reached its bottom of 2,603 points one and a half years later, on 12 March 2003, at the peak of theSARS-epidemic and theIraq war.
In May 2007, the SWX Group, the SIS Group andTelekurs Group announced their merger to a newholding called Swiss Financial Market Services AG.[8] The merger was official in 2008 and the new company was renamed toSIX Group AG.[9] SWX Swiss Exchange was renamed to SIX Swiss Exchange in the same year.[10][11]
From 1998 to 2012, SIX Swiss Exchange owned 15% ofEurex, the world's second largestfutures and derivatives exchange, after theChicago Mercantile Exchange, along with its German partnerDeutsche Börse (85%). Deutsche Börse purchased the 15% ownership from SIX Swiss Exchange in 2012,[12] becoming its sole owner.
SWX Swiss Exchange, as was its new name since 1999,[4] acquired the stock exchange platform Tradepoint, renamed asVirt-x,[13] for the trading of 32 Swissbluechip stocks, regulated by the BritishFinancial Services Authority.[14] The new platform was opened on 25 June 2001.[15] The main goals were on the one hand to build a pan-European exchange and on the other hand to mitigate the migration of the trading volume onSMI stocks to theLondon exchange.[16]
The listed companies were offered the choice between two market segments for SMI stocks: The EU-regulated market segment and the UK-exchange-regulated market segment. Both segments were subject to the regulations of the British Financial Services Authority, and the EU segment was in addition subject to EU regulations.[17]
Virt-x was renamed to SWX Europe in 2008.[18] SWX Europe came to a halt in 2009 and the trading was transferred to SIX Swiss Exchange.[19]
On 30 April 2007, SWX Swiss exchange acquired, jointly withDeutsche Börse, the USoption exchangeISE. With the acquisition ofInternational Securities Exchange Holding (ISE), one of the largest trading platforms for financederivatives emerged. The price for ISE was $2.8 billion and it was financed throughEurex,[20] which was then owned 85% by Deutsche Börse and 15% by SWX Swiss Exchange. The revenue of ISE was about $178 million in 2006, and the profit around $55 million. The ISE remains independent and keeps its structure andbranding.
On 1 January 2007, SWX Swiss Exchange and Deutsche Börse jointly started and managed an exchange for structured products, ajoint venture calledScoach.[21]
In February 2013, Scoach was split into Scoach Europa AG, fully owned by Deutsche Börse, and Scoach Schweiz AG, fully owned by SIX Swiss Exchange.[22] Scoach Schweiz AG was renamed to SIX Structured Products in November 2013.[23]
In 2021, SIX Group established AsiaNext, a digital asset exchange for institutions, as a joint venture withSBI Digital Asset Holdings. In 2023, AsiaNext has received a license as a Recognized Market Operator (RMO) by theMonetary Authority of Singapore.[24]
Headquarters were moved to Selnaustrasse in 2002. In 2017, they moved again to the Hard Turm Park inZürich-West.[25]
For the first time in the world, in 1962, an exchange TV broadcast was introduced in Basel and Zürich. Banks started to usecomputers, while exchanges followed more hesitantly. In 1964,Telekurs was mandated by the Zürich stock exchange to investigate how computer technologies could be used on the exchange. Only in the 1980s did computers finally find their way into exchanges. On 8 December 1995, an advanced electronic system for the processing of foreign stock in the domestic exchange market was introduced, on 2 August 1996 that of Swiss stock and options. Finally, on 16 August 1996, bonds were also electronically traded and thetrading floor was discontinued.[15]
On 3 December 2020, SIX Swiss Exchange, in collaboration with theBank for International Settlements andSwiss National Bank, completed a wholesalecentral bank digital currency proof-of-concept on a distributeddigital asset platform.[26]
SIX Swiss Exchange is part of theSIX Group, which provides a number of otherfinancial market infrastructure services in Switzerland. SIX Group is divided into four business units: Securities Services, Markets, Banking Services and Financial Information.[27] These business units include services likeclearing, acting ascentral counterparty,custody services,market data services,share registry, payment services, and running thereal-time gross settlement (RTGS) system on behalf of the central bank of Switzerland, theSwiss National Bank.[28]
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