Hanseatic Stock Exchange
In this portrait series, we showcase the stories and business models of Hamburg companies and institutions in the financial industry. This time, we take a look at theHanseatic Stock Exchange Hamburg or Hamburg Stock Exchange for short.
Like so much in the financial industry, the Hamburg Stock Exchange has a direct relationship with the real economy. With the Elbe and maritime trade, the city is growing into the second largest German metropolis. In 1558, the “Honourable Council of this Good City of Hamburg” entrusted thee merchants with a central place to hold their meetings - the birth of the Hamburg Stock Exchange. At first, wholesale tradedominated but soonmoney and exchange transactions, insurance and freight business as well as securities transactions took up a large part of it as well.
The Hamburg Stock Exchange is not only the oldest financial institution in Hamburg, but also the oldest existing German stock exchange. The reason for its success was not just Hanseatic reliability, but also constant adaptation and innovation. In 2002, for example, it was the first German stock exchange to make investment funds tradable on the stock market - a business idea that, after it had been successfully implemented, was copied by the other German stock exchanges and today makes a significant contribution to trading volume.
In 1998, it launched a secondary market for entrepreneurial investments in the form of closed-end funds or alternative investment funds (AIF), which was organised and monitored on a stock exchange. In a transparent process through “Fondsbörse Deutschland”, investors can withdraw from long-term tangible investments in advance or acquire “used” participations during the term. This offer fits in perfectly with the location; nevertheless, with its numerous providers and network of financing institutions and specialised service providers, the city is seen as a stronghold of the industry. Recently, real asset investments can also be subscribed to on the primary market.
“We make assets tradable,” says Thomas Ledermann, Managing Director of the Hamburg Stock Exchange and CEO of BÖAG Börsen AG, under whose sponsorship the stock exchanges of Hamburg, Hanover and Dusseldorf are pooling their strengths. “As a regional supplier, we see ourselves as an innovator in niche and specialty products, offering professional and private clients new ways of implementing their investment strategy.” These include a secondary market for direct investments and a specific product offer for medium-sized companies. Typical for Hamburg: Even at the momentous age of over 460, the financial center can still glisten and shine with a youthful freshness.
