Swiss Stock Exchange

SIX Swiss Exchange began life in the 19th century when brokers in Geneva formed their own association in 1850, followed by exchanges in Basel, Zürich and other cities. These early bourses operated under cantonal rules and survived two world wars before uniting in 1993 to create Swiss Exchange. The merger brought together the Geneva, Basel and Zürich exchanges under one automated system that started trading in 1995. By 2008 the organisation had become SIX Swiss Exchange, owned by SIX Group and handling shares, bonds and derivatives for investors worldwide. Its main index, the SMI, tracks the twenty largest Swiss companies and underpins much of the country’s financial activity. The exchange’s influence extends beyond Switzerland through indices like the SPI, SLI and SBI that cover hundreds of companies and franc-denominated bonds. In 2023 it joined thirteen other bourses to launch EuroCTP, aiming to provide a single European trading record for regulators. Its automated clearing and settlement system, introduced in 1995, was the first of its kind anywhere. Over the decades the exchange weathered crises from the 1929 crash to the dot-com bubble and the 2008 financial turmoil while maintaining its role at the heart of Swiss finance. Visitors to the exchange find a modern trading floor in Zürich, a city already known for its banking tradition around Paradeplatz. The old exchange building at Bleicherweg 5, constructed after the First World War, still stands nearby though it no longer hosts trading. The surrounding streets carry the daily pulse of orders and settlements that keep the Swiss Market Index moving. From the trading floor one can sense the scale of more than 200 companies listed and the trillions of francs in market capitalisation managed here.