- Foreign investors generated 47% of trading in equities on the WSE Main Market (-1 percentage point YoY), institutional investors 38% (+4 percentage points) and retail investors 15% (-3 percentage points).
- The years-long downtrend in the share of retail investors in trading on the Main Market reversed in H2 2013 as their market share increased from 14% to 16% in the period.
- Retail investors remained in the lead on NewConnect but the share of institutional investors increased steadily.
- The share of domestic institutions in option trading grew for another consecutive year, attesting to the professionalization of trade in this segment on WSE.
WSE Main Market
Foreign investors generated the biggest part of trading in equities on the Main Market in 2013, similar to the previous three years. They contributed 47% of equities trading in 2013; however, their share decreased to 45% in H2 2013. Brokers from the United Kingdom were the leading group of foreign brokers in H2 2013 (57%), followed once again by French brokers (16%).
Domestic financial institutions contributed a relatively large part of trading on the Main Market in 2013. They generated 38% of trading, an increase of 4 percentage points year on year. Investment funds were the leading groups of domestic institutions (34% share in H2 2013), followed by market makers (30% in H2 2013) and pension funds (19% in H2 2013).
The share of retail investors was 15% in 2013. Importantly, their share in equities trading on the Main Market increased to 16% in H2 2013 (14% in H1 2013) as the downtrend of the past few years reversed.
Table 1. Investor structure on the Main Market in equities
Source: WSE survey of investment firms, estimates
NewConnect
On NewConnect, retail investors remained in the lead and generated 69% of trading in 2013. Foreign investors contributed 7% of trading in the period. The share of domestic institutions in trading on the market increased considerably as they generated historically highest turnover at 24% of trading during the year. Similar to the Main Market, investment funds were the leading group of domestic institutions in 2013 and accounted for 34% of trading in equities in H2 2013.
Table 2. Investor structure on NewConnect
Source: WSE survey of investment firms, estimates
Derivatives Market
Domestic retail investors were in the lead in 2013 also on the derivatives market. Their share in trading was 50% for futures and 37% for options. Domestic institutions generated 33% of trading in futures while foreign investors generated 17% in 2013. The share of foreign institutions in trading in options was 17% in the period while the share domestic institutions increased once again to a record-high 46% (39% in 2012).
Table 3. Investor structure on the futures market
Source: WSE survey of investment firms, estimates
Table 4. Investor structure on the options market
Source: WSE survey of investment firms, estimates
WSE conducted a survey of the share of different investor groups (foreign investors, domestic institutional investors, domestic retail investors) in trading in financial instruments on the market in H2 2013. According to the applied methodology,* the share of each investor group is based on the results of a survey of domestic brokerage houses while annual figures are based on semi-annual numbers.
* The survey covered 30 domestic WSE members who completed questionnaires distributed by WSE. The respondents provided specific figures. The structure of foreign clients of Exchange Members was estimated using a modified method. The activity of market makers and management of clients’ portfolios were included in the category of domestic institutional investors. The survey covered session trading on WSE.
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Warsaw Stock Exchange is the biggest securities exchange in Central and Eastern Europe. WSE organises trading on one of the most dynamically growing capital markets in Europe. WSE operates a regulated market of shares and derivative instruments and the alternative stock market NewConnect for growing companies. WSE is developing Catalyst, a market for issuers of corporate and municipal bonds, as well as commodity markets. Since 9 November 2010, WSE is a public company listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange. For more information visit http://www.gpw.pl.