Boerse Stuttgart pushes digitisation, reports 16% increase in leverage products turnover

Boerse Stuttgart has launched Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures, a new subsidiary for exchange trading and over-the-counter (OTC) trading in fungible products.

The new company is based in Stuttgart and will have an international focus right from the start with the second-largest Swedish exchange, Nordic Growth Market NGM (NGM) - also a subsidiary of Boerse Stuttgart, being able to deploy the new automated functionalities.

Alexander Höptner (pictured), managing director at Boerse Stuttgart, said the goal is to shift the exchange's business activities 'more decisively onto retail customers with the help of innovative, digital technologies in order to offer customers significant value'.

'The new company will focus particular attention on the Predictive Data Analytics division, which is being set up by a separate team of programmers and products managers,' said Höptner, adding that the new subsidiary will also invests in 'promising startups' and enter into 'partnerships with selected partners' to implement its digitisation strategy.

The new Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures will be led by managing director Ulli Spankowski, an expert in the German startup and fintech scene.

The launch follows the release of last month's total figure for turnover at Boerse Stuttgart which amounted to more than €6.1bn.

According to the exchange, the biggest contribution was made by securitised derivatives. The volume of trading in this asset class came to €2.7bn, around 10% up on the previous month with turnover from leverage products nearly 16% higher than the previous month at roughly €1.4bn. Derivative investment products generated turnover of over €1.3 billion, 4% up on the figure for July.

The exchange's order book also showed turnover of around€1.3bn in equities with German equities contributing €910m to this total. Trading in international equities produced turnover of €360m, up nearly 7% on the previous month, according to Boerse Stuttgart.

The German exchange also reported that exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded turnover in excess of €920m over the month, an increase of more than 7% compared to July. In addition, investment fund units contributed a further €114m to the total, ending the month around 51% higher compared with August 2016, while trading in debt instruments (bonds) ended the month in the region of €1.1bn, with corporate bonds leading the way at more than €831m.