On monday the Frankfurt Stock Exchange launched trading in units of the First Private Aktien Global fund (ISIN DE000A0KFRTO) issued by the company First Private. This is the first fund that offers investors the additional option of subscribing via the stock exchange. The units were issued at a price of €50 each, and were first quoted on the floor at €50,10. During the two-week subscription period that preceded the start of trading, the issuer had to keep pace with high demand for the securities: around 40 percent of the units issued were subscribed to via the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Fund subscription allows investors to purchase units at the issue price and subject to no front-end load, irrespective of the bank with which their securities accounts are held. The introduction of the fund subscription option will allow Deutsche Börse to further expand its mutual fund service offering.
Deutsche Börse has stated that it is currently holding talks with further investment companies that are interested in using this option to place new funds on the market. Exchange trading provides fund issuers with an additional distribution channel.
Deutsche Börse launched trading in mutual funds on 19 May of this year. Around 3,100 funds are traded on the Open Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on trading days. Deutsche Börse has systematically expanded its offering for private investors in recent years and established itself as the reference market. In addition to the fund offering, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange provides a broad product range for private investors: 7,000 German and international equities, over 50,000 certificates and reverse convertibles, more than 60,000 warrants and 8,600 German and foreign government and corporate bonds.
