Glossary

In Germany, income on capital assets (such as interest, dividends, etc.) is tax-exempt if it does not amount to more than €801 euros for singles, or €1.620 euros for married couples. Dividends and interest in excess of the respective limit are subject to investment income tax.

TecDAX ® was launched on 24 March 2003. It comprises the 30 largest companies from technology sectors in the Prime Standard segment of FWB®  Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse that rank below the DAX® shares in terms of market capitalization and trading volume. The index is calculated as a price and performance index by Deutsche Börse. The calculation of TecDAX follows on from NEMAX® 50.

The composition of the index is reviewed on a semi-annual basis and adjusted in March and September. The criteria for weighting the shares in the index are: trading volume and market capitalization on the basis of the number of shares in free float, as well as position in the respective sector.

Outside the regular review dates, a company can be taken out of the index if it does no longer belong to the 45 largest companies in terms of market capitalization and trading volume. Respectively, a company can be included in the index if it ranks among the 25 largest companies in terms of market capitalization and trading volume. The changeover takes effect as of the next scheduled chaining date.

Decisions regarding changes to TecDAX are taken by the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG, which consults with the Arbeitskreis Aktienindizes (Stock Indices Working Group).

Technical analysis helps investors to predict the future price development of a stock on the basis of historical data such as price and trading volume. Instruments used in technical analysis include market capitalization and volatility, as well as the beta factor and the correlation coefficient of a stock with respect to a benchmark index. The latter two variables are used to value stocks in relation to the overall market. Chart analysis is an important component of technical analysis.

Factsheet Technology All Share

The theta factor, which reflects the decline of the time value, is expressed as a negative value for long positions and as a positive value for short positions. The value of theta increases as the expiration date approaches.

Tick data comprise all non-aggregated intraday prices of a security determined during a trading day. The prices are either generated automatically in the electronic trading system Xetra® or calculated by the lead broker on the trading floor.

Prices for securities that are quoted in units (i.e. stocks, warrants, subscription rights and participation certificates) in Official Market, Regulated Market and Regulated Unofficial Market move in increments of euro 0.01. If the price for a security that is quoted in units is less than or equal to Euro 0.10 in floor trading, prices for these securities move in increments of Euro 0.001. For bonds, the following ticks apply:

Floaters, zero-bonds, strips in general 0.001 percent Bonds with a remaining time to maturity of less than 2 years 0.001 percent Bonds with a remaining time to maturity between 2 and 7 years 0.005 percent Bonds with a remaining time to maturity of more than 7 years 0.01 percent Bonds without a redemption date 0.01 percent

Shares and Certificates representing Shares

ETFs and ETCs

Mutual Funds on Xetra

A time index is usually calculated every trading day using cash settlement prices. Unlike an index which is calculated continuously on the basis of the most recent prices, a time index does not reflect the short-term price and market developments that occur in continuous trading. Examples of time indices published by Deutsche Börse are certain bond indices.

The time value of a warrant reflects the probability that the price of the underlying instrument will fluctuate during the exercise period. It is thus a type of "uncertainty premium". The time value is calculated on the basis of the remaining time to expiration and the volatility of the underlying instrument. It is used to determine the value of a warrant. The less time remaining to expiration, and the lower the volatility of the underlying value, the lower the time value will be. The time value is zero on the expiration date, at which point the value of the warrant is equivalent to its intrinsic value.

Market value of a fund's net assets (assets minus liabilities).

Trades are executed by exchange participants, either on behalf of their customers or for their own account. The specific terms and conditions for executing trades (market practice) are determined individually by each exchange; in Germany, market practice has been standardized at all eight exchanges. The settlement of trades - i. e. the delivery of the instrument or commodity in return for cash payment - is handled by a clearing and settlement organization. One way to classify trades is on the basis of the instrument bought or sold - i. e. securities, commodities, cash, precious metals, currencies and derivatives. A further distinction is made between trades executed in the cash market, with immediate delivery, and trades executed in the forward market, with delivery ensuing at a future date.

In a trade-sale, which is the most popular type of exit, the buyer benefits from the technical know-how and the market position of the acquired company. As a rule, it will attempt to retain the current management team, at least for a certain period of time. One difference between a trade-sale and an IPO is that a company typically receives a lower valuation if it opts for a trade-sale.

In Germany, trading days are Monday through Friday, with the exception of the following legal holidays: Good Friday, Easter Monday, May 1st, December 24th - 26th and New Year's Day. On all other holidays, the exchanges are open and trading takes place.

Exchange Brokers and dealers meet during fixed business hours on the exchange floor to trade. Floor trading is characterized by a high degree of interpersonal communication between participants. With the emergence of electronic trading, the importance of trading floor systems has diminished significantly. At present, there are eight exchanges in Germany that use the trading floor system. These are located in Berlin, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich and Stuttgart.

Transaction costs are incurred when an investor buys or sells securities. If an order is executed on the trading floor, the investor must pay a brokerage fee as specified in the fee schedule of the exchange. For stocks listed in Amtlicher Markt (Official Market) at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Exchange Brokers charge a fee of 0.08 percent of the share price (DAX®: 0,04 percent), while fees for bonds range between 0.015 percent and 0.075 percent, depending on the transaction volume. Freimakler (Independent Brokers) usually do not have fixed brokerage fees. Investors who trade securities on the exchange must do so through their bank. In return for its services as an intermediary, the bank will typically charge a fee equivalent to one percent of the price of the security.

A DAX® future contract, for instance, has a current transaction value of €25 per DAX point. Futures on the EURO STOXX® or TecDAX® each have a respective transaction value of €10 per index point. 

Move from one exchange segment to another

The transparency standard determines which follow-on obligations the listing of a company entails. 

In General Standard, the minimum legal requirements of the EU-regulated Official Market or the Regulated Market apply. Companies listing in either of these markets are automatically included in General Standard. Accordingly, companies listed in General Standard fulfill the follow-on obligations of the Official or Regulated Market. 

A listing in Prime Standard requires companies to fulfill international transparency requirements that go beyond those of General Standard. Admission to Prime Standard is a key prerequisite for inclusion in any of the selection indices DAX®, MDAX®, TecDAX® and SDAX®.

Entry Standard, the transparency level of the Open Market (Regulated Unofficial Market), features less follow-on obligations than the standards described above. Thus, Entry Standard affords small and medium-sized companies easy and cost-effective access to the capital market. It is primarily aimed at qualified investors who are aware of potential risks due to less information.

According to §9 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), German financial institutions, subsidiaries of foreign financial institutions and members of German stock exchanges (including participants in the electronic trading platforms Xetra and Eurex) are required to report to the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) via electronic means all transactions in securities that are admitted for trading on any exchange in the European Union or in any member state of the European Economic Zone. Trading participants can fulfill this duty using the TRICE system. The transmission of transactions that require registration with the BaFin can occur in one of two ways:  

per dialogue process The registrations are entered manually into the registration system provided by Deutsche Börse.

 

per file transfer The trader converts the entry into the S.W.I.F.T. format and transmits it to Deutsche Börse.

Traders on Eurex and Xetra who exclusively trade from abroad can also use TRICE.

Trustees can be assigned when two contract parties exchange cash or assets. They act independently of the contract parties. By transferring asset rights to the trustee, he/she adopts the legal position of an owner and can thus, for instance, exercise voting rights or divest shares on behalf of the actual owner.

Turn-around capital is used to finance measures (e.g. for developing new concepts and establishing a new market position) that have become necessary in the wake of an internal crisis such as flagging sales figures.