Equiduct launches trading of the Nordic markets on Apex

It also marks the opening of a regional commercial hub with new branch and country head

LONDON, Nov. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Equiduct, the pan-European retail exchange, announced today that it has launched the Nordic markets on Apex, Equiduct's commission-free, Best Execution service for retail orders. More than five million retail investors connected to Apex through their retail brokers now have access to 208 Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish stocks.

This region has some of the most active retail trading participation in the world per capita. The area has seen a boom in retail participation since 2018, and this intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic. Trading from retail investors accounted for 11% of exchange trade flow in 2021. More recently, in July 2022, Sweden saw the retail segment driving 12% of total turnover[1].

The Apex service for the Nordic region is supported by a pool of liquidity providers who are committed to deliver additional retail-specific liquidity in the Equiduct order book. It also includes a unique Best Execution check which can be used by retail brokers who wish to avoid any trade at a price outside the primary market BBO.

Equiduct also inaugurates a new regional commercial hub centred around the opening of a Swedish branch office and the hire of Axel Josephson, a new country head based in Sweden. Josephson, who will be covering all Nordic markets from Stockholm, joins Equiduct from Infront ASA, where he worked as Sales Director for almost eight years.

Wail Azizi, Chief Strategy Officer at Equiduct said: "Yet another milestone in Equiduct's mission to become the leading retail exchange for Europe. We believe it should be easy to access Europe-wide liquidity, so we are delighted to bring Best Execution to our exchange members for such a crucial investment region. Equally, we look forward to welcoming new members across the Nordics to access our full suite of European markets. And as an added commitment to the region, we are delighted to have Axel Josephson on board who brings many years of experience in both trading and market data across the Nordic markets".

Axel Josephson, Country Head of Sweden at Equiduct commented: "I am very privileged to be joining Equiduct at such a significant juncture. I am eager to help the exchange expand into these new key markets while nurturing our relationship with existing members and market data clients. Retail trading in the Nordic markets has boomed in the last few years, and we are excited to bring Best Execution for retail investors across the region. There is great potential for Equiduct operating as a gateway for accessing pan-European equities and exchange traded products with commission-free trading and cost-effective market data solutions".

Notes to editors

About Equiduct
Equiduct is an innovative, client driven pan-European exchange enabling retail brokers and institutional clients to achieve Best Execution in the most liquid and fragmented stocks and ETFs across 11 markets covering 16 European headline indices. Equiduct is a market segment of Börse Berlin, a regulated market operator under Article 44 of MiFID II. Börse Berlin is regulated by the Competent Authority Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe – Börsenaufsichtsbehörde and participation in trading is governed by German and European law. In 2021 it reported a turnover of €77bn and an overall ADV (average daily volume) of €300m for the year, up 7% year-on-year.

[1] Source: Nasdaq, 26 September 2022, "4 Takeaways From Recent Retail Activity in Nordic & Baltic Markets" Report, available: https://www.nasdaq.com/docs/2022/09/27/4-Key-Takeaways-from-Recent-Retail-Activity-in-Nordics-and-Baltics-Report.pdf