SIX Swiss Exchange

SIX Swiss Exchange brokers offer access to the main stock exchange in Switzerland, which is one of the largest in Europe by market capitalization. This page will discuss its history, some of its related indices and how it operates, providing information on the trading hours and rules. Our guide also covers how to trade the SIX Swiss Exchange, some top tips for doing so and a comparison guide to determine the best brokers with access to the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Top SIX Swiss Exchange Brokers

These are the 3 best brokers for trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange:

1. Forex.com
2. IG Group
3. Videforex

#1 - Forex.com

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Review

Forex.com boasts a global reputation with multiple awards and 20+ years experience. Regulated in the US, EU, UK and Canada they offer a huge range of markets, not just forex, and offer competitive fees on a cutting-edge platform. The brand also provides a suite of additional tools, from performance analytics and SMART Signals to advanced charts and strategy builders.

Forex.com is excellent for forex traders with over 80 currency pairs, tight spreads, low commissions and powerful platforms. The brand is also heavily regulated while its parent company is listed on the NASDAQ, giving it a high trust score.

- DayTrading Review Team

• Instruments: Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Cryptos, Futures, Options
• Regulator: CySEC, IIROC, NFA, CFTC, FCA, CIMA, CIRO
• Platforms: MT4, MT5, TradingView
• Min. Deposit: $100
• Min. Trade: $1
• Leverage: 1:200

Stock Exchanges

Forex.com offers trading on 13 stock exchanges:

• Australian Securities Exchange
• Borsa Italiana
• CAC 40 Index France
• DAX GER 40 Index
• Dow Jones
• Euronext
• FTSE UK Index
• Hang Seng
• IBEX 35
• Japan Exchange Group
• Nasdaq
• S&P 500
• SIX Swiss Exchange

CFD Trading

Go long and short on a range of popular financial markets with intuitive platforms and reliable execution. 99.76% of trades are executed in less than a second with an average speed of 0.02 seconds.

Forex Trading

Forex.com is a leading FX broker. The brand offers a huge range of currency pairs and some of the lowest fees in the industry. Spreads on the EUR/USD come in as low as 0.2 with a $5 commission per $100k.

Stocks Trading

Forex.com offers access to thousands of US, EU and UK stocks, with spreads of just 1 point. Speculate on household names as well as new IPOs. US stocks are available from just 1.8 cents per share.

Crypto Trading

Trade major cryptos against USD, EUR, GBP and AUD. All traded with tight spreads. No virtual wallet is required, just a trading account. Cryptos are not available in the US, UK or Canada.

Pros

• Up to 15% cashback rebates for active traders
• Industry-leading pricing on popular forex assets
• Leading trading tools, including Trading Central, SMART Signals and MetaTrader 4

Cons

• Tools and platform access varies between countries
• No copy trading tool
• $15 inactivity fee

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#2 - IG Group

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Review

IG is an award-winning broker that has an excellent reputation globally. The brand-US offers spread betting, CFD and forex trading across a comprehensive suite of markets. IG is also multi-regulated, provides a great trading app and has 50 years experience.

IG offers a superb all-round package. Beginners will appreciate the user-friendly web platform and secure trading environment while established investors will rate the 18,000+ markets and top-tier market research.

- DayTrading Review Team

• Instruments: Forex, ETFs, CFDs, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, options, futures, spread betting
• Regulator: FCA, ASIC, MAS, FSCA, JFSA, FMA, CFTC, NFA, BMA, DFSA, FINMA, BaFin
• Platforms: MT4
• Min. Deposit: £250
• Min. Trade: 0.1 lots
• Leverage: 1:30

Stock Exchanges

IG Group offers trading on 20 stock exchanges:

• Australian Securities Exchange
• Bombay Stock Exchange
• Borsa Italiana
• Deutsche Boerse
• Dow Jones
• Euronext
• Hong Kong Stock Exchange
• IBEX 35
• Japan Exchange Group
• Korean Stock Exchange
• London Stock Exchange
• National Stock Exchange Of India
• Russell 2000
• S&P 500
• SIX Swiss Exchange
• Shanghai Stock Exchange
• Shenzhen Stock Exchange
• Tadawul
• Taiwan Stock Exchange
• Toronto Stock Exchange

CFD Trading

IG offers an impressive suite of 18,000+ CFD instruments. Negative balance protection ensures accounts cannot drop below zero while custom price alerts and the IG Academy enhance the trading experience.

Forex Trading

IG offers currency trading on its award-winning web platform and mobile app. Comprehensive charts and forex analysis tools are also available through ProRealTime.

Stocks Trading

IG offers 13,000+ shares, with more listed firms than most competitors. Fees are low with no commission on US stocks. Extended hours trading is also available alongside ultra-fast execution speeds of 0.014 seconds.

Crypto Trading

11 popular cryptos are available, plus two crypto crosses. A crypto index is also offered, following the value of the top 10 digital currencies by market cap. All cryptos are available via CFDs.

Pros

• IG offers great educational materials including an extensive library of training and support on how to day trade successfully
• Users have access to a comprehensive range of charts, market news, client sentiment data, and analysis tools
• Over 18,000 assets are available spanning stocks, forex, commodities, baskets, futures, options and more

Cons

• Inactivity charge
• No copy trading platform

Visit IG Group

#3 - Videforex

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Review

Videforex accepts deposits in a range of cryptos and fiat currencies. Payouts reach 98% per trade.

• Instruments: Binary Options, CFDs, Forex, Commodities, Indices, Cryptos
• Regulator:
• Platforms: TradingView
• Min. Deposit: $250
• Min. Trade: ¢0.01
• Leverage: 1:500

Stock Exchanges

Videforex offers trading on 7 stock exchanges:

• Dow Jones
• FTSE UK Index
• Hong Kong Stock Exchange
• IBEX 35
• Nasdaq
• S&P 500
• SIX Swiss Exchange

CFD Trading

A suite of CFDs are available across popular markets with high leverage.

Forex Trading

Videforex offers leveraged trading on major, minor and exotic currency pairs.

Stocks Trading

Videforex offers trading on major exchanges such as the FTSE.

Crypto Trading

Start trading on cryptos against fiat currencies and other alt coins.

Pros

• Full range of investments
• Copy trading
• Demo account

Cons

• Weak regulatory oversight
• No MT4 integration

Visit Videforex

Comparing SIX Swiss Exchange Brokers

The first step is choosing a SIX Swiss Exchange broker. This will be your platform to enter the market and execute trades. As you will rely on these brokers to facilitate your orders and provide any advice or other key information, it is an important decision.

When comparing the top SIX Swiss Exchange brokers, consider the following:

Costs

Charges, fees and commissions can eat away at your profits. These may be associated directly with investments, but also include non-trading charges such as account maintenance or inactivity fees. The best SIX Swiss Exchange brokers will publish this information on their website, so it is accessible before having to open a live profile.

Look out for SIX Swiss Exchange brokers that offer tight spreads or commission-free investments, plus waived charges for exchange participation and market depth data.

As the SIX Swiss Exchange trading centre operates in CHF, consider any currency exchange rates if using another currency. Note that the Swiss franc is generally strong against the USD. You can use the currency converter on the official website to find the most up-to-date exchange rates.

Payment Methods

If you are a Swiss citizen, SIX Swiss Exchange brokers that offer credit/debit cards or Sofort transfers may be the most appealing so you can fund a trading account and begin investing right away.

If you are an international investor, consider SIX Swiss Exchange brokers with cheap international bank wire transfers or Visa/MasterCard/Amex card payments. Processing times will vary between SIX brokers, those with swift fund clearance will rank highly.

A low minimum deposit requirement should also be a key point to look out for, particularly if you are new to day trading.

Trading Platform

How reliable and easy to use is the broker’s platform, software and tools? The best SIX Swiss Exchange brokers will provide a choice of terminals, with customizable interfaces and intuitive navigation.

Look out for SIX Swiss Exchange brokers that provide access to indicators, analysis tools, copy trading services and graphical objects for the best overall experience. Live news streams of the latest Swiss corporation publications and performance will also be valuable when making investment decisions.

Customer Service

An important consideration when comparing brokers with access to the SIX Swiss Exchange is customer support. Glitches or issues can cost you both time and money so a prompt and responsive support team should be on hand to resolve these quickly.

The top SIX Swiss Exchange brokers will provide multilingual support, meaning wherever you are trading from, you can receive guidance in your native language.

What Is The SIX Swiss Exchange?

A Brief History

The SIX Swiss Exchange is operated by the SIX Group Ltd. and was formed in 1995 following the merging of the three stock exchanges of Geneva, Basel and Zürich. The following year, a system to allow fully automated clearing, settlement and trading were introduced – it was the first stock exchange to do so.

In 1999, the stock exchange was named the ‘SWX Swiss Exchange’ but this was later rebranded to the ‘SIX Swiss Exchange’ after merging with the SIS Group and Telekurs in 2008.

Based primarily in Zürich, Switzerland, the SIX Swiss Exchange supports stocks, stock options, Swiss government bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs), while also providing support for listing and post-trade services. These can be accessed via registered SIX Swiss Exchange brokers.

Contact details with information like the Zürich address for the offices, along with a local support centre located in London for UK-based traders can be found on the website. The SIX Swiss Exchange website also includes a newsroom where key figures can be found in official notices and press releases.

Indices

SMI

The main stock market index in Switzerland is the Swiss Market Index (SMI), consisting of the 20 largest and most liquid company shares that make up over 80% of the total market capitalization of the Swiss equity market.

This is known as the SIX Swiss Exchange trading blue chips segment of the Swiss equity market. These stocks come from the Swiss Performance Index (SPI), which includes all Swiss stocks. With listed companies weighted by market cap, the SMI is constantly being recalculated in real-time.

Other notable Indices that are part of the Swiss Index family include:

• SPI – The Swiss Performance Index is the overall exchange index that consists of almost all companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange market, excluding equity securities with a free float of less than 20% and investment companies.
• SMIM – The Swiss Market Index-Mid consists of the 30 largest stocks in the SPI that are not included in the blue-chip segment, the SMI. These stocks are determined by considering both the market capitalization and the turnover of shares.
• UBS 100 – The UBS 100 Index is made up of the 100 largest shares from the SPI measured by market capitalization. It includes all in the SMI and SMIM and altogether covers more than 98% of the Swiss equity market.

SARON

The Swiss Average Rate Overnight (SARON) is an overnight reference rate that relates to the Swiss franc repo market. This is an important tool for daily liquidity management for banks and overnight interest rates are vital to determine a yield curve.

SARON is administrated by the SIX Swiss Exchange trading group and is seen as an alternative to CHF Libor, providing resilient and reliable financial benchmarks and leading to SARON’s endorsement under the EU-regulated market in 2020.

SIX Swiss Exchange Opening Hours

The SIX Swiss Exchange opening hours in Central European Time (GMT+2) are as follows:

• 06:00 – 09:30: pre-market session
• 09:30 – 17:30: normal trading hours
• 17:30 – 22:00: post-market session

If you are a UK-based trader then bear in mind that CET is two hours ahead of GMT, meaning that the SIX Swiss Exchange market opening hours are 07:30 – 15:30 GMT. SIX Swiss Exchange brokers will update their calendars with the latest hours, including details of public holiday dates and market closures.

Fees

SIX charges several different fees to investors, including participation fees, admission fees and recurring annual fees. The charges that most directly affect short-term investors are transaction and “ad valorem” fees, which are based on the type of securities being traded, the volume of trade and the number of transactions performed. The top SIX Swiss Exchange brokers may absorb these costs so they won’t be passed on to you.

In addition, there are exchange fees for SIX Swiss Exchange market data, split into three different tiers:

• Level 1: This provides an ‘inside market’ level of information on the best bid, ask and last. With an annual cost of 300.00 CHF, it is ideal for those who want cost-effective access to information needed to trade on chart-based trading systems.
• Level 2: Defined as ‘market depth’ information, level 2 provides the best bid, ask and last as well as the next nine best bids and asks. This level incurs a cost of 1,080.00 CHF per annum.
• Level 2 Plus/DOB: This is the most expensive level of SIX Swiss Exchange trading data, at an annual cost of 1,512.00 CHF. This tier gives access to the best bid, ask and last along with the subsequent 29 best bids and asks, where the extended market depth is for the Swiss Blue Chips only. Additionally, the detailed order book (DOB) means professionals have aggregated/disaggregated market depth for all equity segments available to them.

SIX Swiss Exchange Rules & Regulation

The listing requirements of companies on the SIX Swiss Exchange are:

• Provide, at minimum, accounting history of the previous three years with capital resources of at least CHF 25 million.
• Publish annual reports that include audited financial statements. Submit semi-annual financial reports to the SIX Swiss Regulation in addition to periodic reporting of equity securities, bonds and conversion rights, derivatives, investment funds and other collective investment schemes. These reports can be accessed via the newsboard on the exchange’s website.
• Appoint internal officers to ensure constant compliance with the trading rules. Additionally, there must be sufficient staff with experience and expertise for stock exchange trading.
• Minimum capitalization of 25 million CHF and minimum distribution of 25% of equity securities.

Biggest Players

There are over 250 companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. These range from small family businesses to large global giants that altogether account for a total market capitalization of USD 1.76 trillion. The top 10 SMI total return components are listed below, with their tickers and market capitalization in millions of CHF.

1. Roche Holding AG (ROG) – 222,338.16
2. Nestle S.A (NESN) – 219,388.29
3. Novartis AG (NOVN) – 206,937.07
4. Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (CFR) – 60,552.00
5. ABB LTD (ABBN) – 59,368.12
6. Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN) – 55,038.33
7. Lonza Group AG (LONN) – 52,515.36
8. UBS Group (UBSG) – 52,280.91
9. Sika AG (SIKA) – 45,242.37
10. Givaudan S.A. (GIVN) – 35,967.13

Other popular SIX Swiss Exchange members include Relief Therapeutics, under the symbol RLF, Wisekey (WIHN), PolyPeptide Group AG (PPGN),  Zur Rose (ROSE) and Partners Group Holding AG (PGHN). Look out for key financial metrics offered by SIX Swiss Exchange brokers. These can help you with your investment decisions.

Why Invest On The SIX Swiss Exchange?

• High liquidity makes it very easy to trade the important, blue-chip segment of the SPI index.
• Compliance with both the EU Benchmark Regulation and Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities provides a suitable index for any EU company seeking a gateway to Swiss visibility. High volatility stocks offer ample opportunity to generate profits with SIX Swiss Exchange trading, where 60% of the market weighting is made up of healthcare and consumer goods companies.
• The IPO process is highly efficient, to the point where a company can be listed within a month.
• Switzerland is a politically stable country that is renowned for its solid legal system and strong financial system and infrastructure.

How To Start Investing On The SIX Swiss Exchange

Once you have compared SIX Swiss Exchange brokers and chosen one that suits your investment goals and needs, its time to invest.

Familiarize Yourself With Swiss Stocks

It is easy to purchase stock on the SIX Swiss Exchange trading centre due to the welcoming foreign investment policy, though it is important to learn the charges and rules related to the stock exchange before investing. The top SIX Swiss Exchange brokers will offer free trading on the exchange with all relevant investor fees waived.

With that said, brokers will not cover any governmental charges, including if you need to pay Swiss taxes on any profits that you make.

Strategy

Investing without a plan is a risky business that can quickly cost you money. Trading stocks is not always a simple process, so heading in with a predetermined strategy is a wise move. Many strategies rely on the analysis of market information using charts and the identification of patterns in historic data to predict what will happen in the future.

You will need to have patience as following a strategy can be difficult and time-consuming, while honing your craft can take even longer. There are plenty of strategies that you can find online, alternatively, visit our strategies guide for more in-depth advice, tips and information.

Select A Stock

For your best chance at maximizing profits, you need to ensure you perform due diligence on your search for the stocks you shall day trade. The two most important factors you should consider for SIX Swiss Exchange trading are volume and volatility.

Volume is simply the number of shares that are being traded at a given time, with each transaction that occurs increasing the total volume. This is a good way to check the validity of a trend move as high volumes imply substantial interest.

Volatility refers to how unpredictable a stock is, with highly volatile stocks bringing an added risk of the price fluctuating sharply over short periods of time. Volatility can provide an opportunity for keen-eyed day traders to quickly turn a profit, though it can also wipe away winnings in the blink of an eye.

Trading Tips

Educational Resources

Whether you are a beginner, expert or anywhere in between, use the widespread and thorough resources that are available online to keep up with the ever-changing SIX Swiss Exchange. Some of the resources you could use include:

• Charts
• Books and ebooks
• Forums & chat rooms
• Historical data charts
• Courses & video tutorials

Demo Accounts

Practising with a demo account before committing personal capital is a great risk-free way to learn the nuances and intricacies of the exchange. The best SIX Swiss Exchange brokers will provide access to real-time market conditions, with unlimited funds.

Brokers with a paper trading profile will help you determine what strategy you want to adopt. Many brokers with access to the SIX Swiss Exchange nowadays will provide this service free of charge with no time limit.

News

Keeping up to date on current events is one of the best ways to help you predict what the market is going to do in both the short and long term. Look out for news websites reporting information like quarterly earnings, returns, investor relations and IPO calendars for the exchange organizations. Many SIX Swiss Exchange brokers will integrate these live news streams into their service offering.

Examples of key websites include:

• Reuters
• Bloomberg
• Yahoo Finance
• Google Finance

Final Word On SIX Swiss Exchange Brokers

Choosing the best SIX Swiss Exchange brokers is an important decision when it comes to investing. Brokers offer traders a gateway to invest in a reliable and stable financial market and a catalog of successful Swiss companies. The many company stocks and indices available offer a good range of potentially profitable opportunities in all major industries. If you wish to start investing on the SIX Swiss Exchange follow our guide above and see our list of top SIX Swiss Exchange brokers.

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