Trading venue

In Germany there are several trading venues for securities – each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

The most important trading venues:

1. Xetra (Frankfurt):

• The reference market for German shares (over 90% of exchange trading)
• Trading hours: 9:00–17:30
• Narrowest spreads, highest liquidity
• Costs: transaction fee 0.0048% (min. €0.60)

2. Tradegate:

• Popular with private investors (partner of many neo-brokers)
• Trading hours: 8:00–22:00 (longer than Xetra)
• No exchange fees for private investors
• Good spreads on large shares/ETFs

3. gettex (Munich):

• Partner of Scalable Capital and others
• Trading hours: 8:00–22:00
• Very cheap, Baader Bank as market maker

4. Lang & Schwarz Exchange (Hamburg):

• Partner of Trade Republic
• Trading hours: 7:30–23:00
• €1 third-party cost flat fee

5. Regional exchanges:

• Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich
• Some specialise (Stuttgart: certificates, Düsseldorf: bonds)

Rule of thumb for private investors:

• Large standard shares/ETFs: the neo-broker's trading venue is fine
• Small caps/exotics: better via Xetra (higher liquidity)
• Outside 9:00–17:30: spreads are wider = more expensive