The Swiss stock exchange, operated by SIX, saw a notable increase in exchange traded funds (ETFS) activity for August – with 5.7 billion turnover (36.5% higher than July). Structured products have similarly seen significant growth since the start of the year, with over 68,000 new products listed – 24.6% more than in 2022.
“The high listing activity in structured products last month is due to the fact that in the current market environment, they offer investors a wide array of benefits,” according to André Buck, global head of sales and relationship management at SIX Exchange.
“With managing risk front of mind for market participants right now, structured products can be customised to meet specific risk-return objectives. Furthermore, when markets are stale and volatility is low, the leverage components of structured products provide investors varying degrees of risk and potential return, allowing them to align their investments with their risk tolerance and financial goals,” Buck added.
Equities turnover for SIX Swiss Exchange was up 6.7% for the month (though down slightly by -4.2% year-on-year). Fixed income saw a significant slide however, with turnover down -6.8% in August and -2.7% for the year, while the number of listed fixed income products fell by almost two thirds (-65.6%) in August and is down 57.7% for the year, leaving a YTD number of listed products at just 268.
BME Exchange, the Spanish bourse bought by SIX Group in 2020, saw total transactions for August fall by over 10%, while equities turnover was down 14.8% and fixed income turnover slid by 41.2%. ETF and securitised derivatives turnover rose by 14.3% and 12.3% respectively.
©Markets Media Europe 2023
