SIX Trading Key Figures: Year 2020

• Record trading turnover CHF 1,753.3 billion (+18.7% year-on-year)
• Highest number of transactions of all time with 99,389,614 (+55.3% year-on-year)
• Swiss blue chip index SMI® at 10,703.5 points (+0.8% versus the end of 2019)

In 2020, the Swiss Stock Exchange recorded a strong increase in trading activity, driven by a spike in volatility caused by the uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While stock markets gradually recovered, volatility remained at elevated levels.

Jos Dijsselhof, CEO SIX, commented: “Despite working from home and split operation, we handled record-high volumes without any capacity or system issues. Thereby, we ensured that all market participants could rely on the orderly functioning of our exchange. This proves that our efforts in recent years to continuously improve and invest in our systems and workflows are paying off.”

Trading: Record Volumes Handled Without Issues
As a result of persistently high market volatility, trading turnover and the number of transactions for the entire year 2020 reached new all-time highs, with CHF 1,753.3 billion and 99,389,614 (+18.7% and +55.3% respectively, compared to 2019). The Swiss Stock Exchange also registered the highest monthly trading turnover in its history in March 2020, with CHF 293.3 billion, as well as the highest number of transactions in a single month, with 17,399,719.

The day with the highest trading turnover in 2020 was 20 March with CHF 18.8 billion. The highest number of trades was recorded on 12 March 2020, with 1,335,892 transactions, which corresponds to a new daily record. In 2020, the security with the highest trading turnover and number of trades on the Swiss Stock Exchange was ROCHE GS with CHF 181.8 billion (2019: NESTLE N with 134.8 bn) and 6,128,146 transactions (2019: NOVARTIS N with 3,497,367).

With Jump Trading Europe B.V., Credit Suisse International and DRW Europe B.V., three new trading participants joined the highly liquid reference market for Swiss securities in 2020, bringing their total to 95.

Overview of Indices and Individual Trading Segments
During the course of the year, the Swiss blue chip index SMI® exceeded the 11,000-point mark for the very first time. The highest level and thus record value was reached on 20 February at 11,270.0 points (end-of-day value); the lowest value in the course of last year was recorded on 16 March at 7,650.2 points. At the end of the year, the SMI stood at 10,703.5 points, an increase of 0.8% versus the end of 2019.

The performance of other indices per end of 2020 was as follows: The SLI Swiss Leader Index® closed at 1,682.1 points (+3.0%) and the broader-based SPI® at 13,327.9 points (+3.8%). The leading bond index SBI® AAA-BBB Total Return reached 141.9 points (+0.9%). The highest increase was recorded by the SXI Bio+Medtech® TR which climbed to 5,643.4 points (+18.2%).

In the equities segment (including funds & ETPs), SIX recorded new all-time highs. Trading turnover increased by 25.0% to CHF 1,468.1 billion, and the number of trades in equities climbed by 55.4% to 96,503,482. Trading turnover in ETFs fell by 9.9% to CHF 112.3 billion, while a new record of 1,668,401 trades were executed (+60.4%). In terms of CHF bonds, trading turnover increased by 9.5% and reached CHF 132.3 billion with 304,122 trades (-5.4%). Trading turnover in Non-CHF bonds saw a decrease of 53.7% to reach CHF 18.1 billion, while the number of trades fell by 26.3% to 15,305.

Structured products and warrants saw the biggest growth rates. Turnover increased by 27.3% to CHF 22.6 billion, with a total of 898,304 trades (+67.8%). 2020 was a record year for products with crypto currencies as underlyings on the Swiss Stock Exchange. For the first time, turnover passed the 1-billion mark and reached CHF 1.1 bn, an increase of 114% compared with the previous year (CHF 518 mn). The number of transactions also more than doubled: in total, 48,024 trades were carried out in these crypto products, an increase of 145% over 2019 (19,663).

Listing: Outstanding Funding Capacity and Growing Choice
With V-ZUG Holding AG and Ina Invest Holding Ltd., SIX recorded two high-profile company listings in 2020. Ina Invest – a spin-off from Implenia – listed its shares in June, adding CHF 215 million (based on the opening share price) to its overall market capitalization. Shortly thereafter, Swiss household appliance company V-ZUG – a spin-off from Metall Zug – went public with a CHF 463 million (based on the opening share price) market capitalization.

Over CHF 88 billion of capital was raised through bonds listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (+13.2% vs 2019), highlighting the outstanding funding capacity offered by SIX. In total, the bonds segment saw 356 new listings in 2020 (-7.0% vs 2019), of which 325 are CHF-denominated bonds.

In 2020, the three new ETF issuers HANetf, RIZE and Credit Suisse joined the Swiss Stock Exchange. Overall, the 27 issuers have listed 199 new products this year, including the first medical cannabis ETF, bringing the total to 1,598 products and proving that even in its twentieth year of existence, the ETF segment of the Swiss Stock Exchange still leaves room for growth and innovation. 

This also applies to the ETP segment in its tenth year, where SIX welcomed Bitcoin Capital as a new issuer who listed the very first actively managed cryptocurrency ETP tradable on a regulated marketplace. With a choice of 98 products – of which 76 are structured products and 22 are ETPs – that provide investors access to seven crypto currencies and several currency baskets (per end of December 2020), the Swiss Stock Exchange is the world’s leading regulated marketplace to trade products with crypto-currencies as underlyings. Listings in the structured products segment in 2020 amounted to a total of 60,975, which corresponds to an increase of 43.8% compared to the previous year. As per end of 2020, 37,658 structured products were available to investors.

Ensuring Continuous Innovation and Growth
In 2020, the Swiss Stock Exchange continued to provide financial market participants with innovative, value-adding services in the areas of reference data, connectivity and trading functionalities.

Jos Dijsselhof, CEO SIX, added: “As the third largest exchange group in Europe, we are well equipped for future challenges. With the integration of BME, our company’s size and diversity will accelerate the expansion in the home markets Switzerland and Spain as well as the reaching out to new customers and markets to achieve further growth.”

Detailed statistics on turnover and transaction volumes per segment, on newly listed products and on the development of the most important indices can be found in the tables below. The website of SIX provides you with full access to our complete information offering.