Elsa Solutions S.p.A. lists on Euronext Growth Milan
Equity trading ‘Made in Italy’: From migration to price formation
How market quality has evolved since the migration of Borsa Italiana equity markets onto Euronext Optiq®
After publishing studies on (#1) the evolution of market quality during Covid volatility peaks and (#2) metrics on the resilience of equities during the Ukraine-Russia geopolitical crisis, the Euronext Equities Team now provides (#3) an analysis of Milan equity markets, highlighting the market quality impact of the successful migration onto the Euronext Optiq® platform.
Executive summary
- Euronext is the venue for price formation for Milan stocks, as it sets and improves the EBBO prices over 74% of the time, and captures 80.5% share of Lit trading.
- There is healthy competition across other metrics such as Spread, Liquidity at Touch, Time Presence at EBBO. Since the migration of Borsa Italiana equity markets onto Optiq®, all such KPIs have improved for Euronext Milan, leading to 80.5% share of Lit trading.
- This outcome is thanks to the adoption of Euronext’s Supplemental Liquidity Provision scheme by market makers in Italy, the ramp up of activity in Milan by global banks, and the crucial role of local brokers and the retail community.
Methodology
- Scope: market quality metrics and volumes are analysed for FTSE MIB constituents, which are the most traded securities of Milan equity markets.
- Date range: from 3 January to 22 September 2023, with a focus on the evolution of key metrics since the migration of Borsa Italiana equity markets onto Euronext Optiq®, which was completed on 27 March 2023.
- Data source: BMLL Technologies – Vantage dashboard.
- Key metrics: EBBO Setting, Spread, Liquidity at Touch, Time Presence at EBBO, Lit Market Share of Trading. Weekly or Monthly data.
- Trading venues: Euronext Milan, Cboe Europe, Aquis Europe, Turquoise Europe.
- Equiduct market quality metrics are not accounted for because they are not available on BMLL Vantage dashboard and only Central Limit Order Book volumes are taken into consideration. Note that a comparison between Euronext Milan and Equiduct APEX was presented in March 2023.
Download Equity trading ‘Made in Italy’: From migration to price formation
Nortem BioGroup lists on Euronext Access Paris
Edil San Felice S.p.A. lists on Euronext Growth Milan
Euronext Optiq migration: successful completion of Phase Two for Borsa Italiana markets
Borsa Italiana Fixed Income, Warrants and Certificates markets opened for trading on the Euronext Optiq® trading platform for the first time last week. The second phase of the migration plan of Borsa Italiana markets to Optiq saw over 32,500 instruments switch to Euronext’s proprietary trading technology, just six months after Borsa Italiana’s Equities and ETFs migrated in phase one. Derivatives will follow in 2024.
Opening up the markets to a new set of Italian instruments
When Euronext’s Fixed Income, Warrants and Certificates markets opened for trading on Monday 11 September 2023, the range of instruments on offer had expanded, with over 32,500 Italian fixed income, warrants and certificates now available for trading on the Optiq trading platform. This marks a major milestone in the journey to integrating all Borsa Italiana markets into the Euronext Optiq® platform, as the Italian cash markets are all now live, and another key step in building the backbone of the Capital Markets Union in Europe.
Bonds, certificates and warrants
This phase of the migration brought across Borsa Italiana’s three fixed income markets: MOT, the regulated market designed to facilitate access to the bond market for private investors; Euronext Access Milan (formerly ExtraMOT), a multilateral trading facility (MTF) for professional investors that offers trading in bonds listed in other EU markets as well as Italian bonds, particularly those issued by SMEs; and EuroTLX, another MTF targeted specifically to non-professional and professional investors trading in retail-size fixed income securities.
Also included in the scope was the Borsa Italiana SeDeX market, for retail investors trading certificates and covered warrants, collectively known as securitised derivatives products (hence the name SeDeX). The Italian secondary market is one of the most active in Europe for these financial instruments.
Enhancing the markets for Italy and across Europe
Migrating the Borsa Italiana markets onto one platform gives investors in Italy the opportunity to trade a much wider range of products, while issuers of financial instruments gain access to a broad investor base across Europe and internationally, through all seven Euronext marketplaces. Likewise, European investors can benefit from trading Italian products through the Euronext platform.
The Optiq technology offers improved connectivity and backward/forward compatible protocols, and an optimised messaging model, and it has been adapted to bring in the best features that were in place for former users of Borsa Italiana, meaning enhanced markets for all users.
European and international trading clients also benefit from using only one platform for several markets, as the harmonised design and architecture simplifies their development needs. They have access to the largest liquidity pool in Europe, with a single entry point.
Existing members can extend their membership to a new Euronext market through a simple process.
What’s next?
This successful migration means that two of the three phases in the major Borsa Italiana markets migration to Optiq plan are complete, and the cash markets in all seven Euronext countries are now integrated on the same trading platform. The third phase will see the migration of derivatives instruments, and is targeted for the first quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, work continues on the other major migration on Euronext’s books, this time in the post-trade sphere. Currently the clearing house for Italy (formerly CC&G), Euronext Clearing will become Euronext’s CCP of choice for its cash equity markets in November this year. Derivatives will follow, migrating from LCH SA to Euronext Clearing by Q3 2024, resulting in a harmonised clearing framework across Euronext venues.
Arverne Group lists on Euronext Paris and joins the Euronext Tech Leaders segment
Euronext Cybersecurity World Index
The thematic index dedicated to the cybersecurity industry.
Why invest in Cybersecurity?
The digital transformation of society has expanded the threat landscape and is bringing about new challenges that require adapted and innovative responses. Meanwhile, the number of cyberattacks recorded continues to rise, with increasingly sophisticated attacks coming from a wide range of sources.
Data collection and processing are now integral to the day-to-day business of many companies, including some of the world's largest companies by market capitalisation. The consequences of a data breach or security breach have never been so far-reaching; and if a company is found to have poor data protection practices, it could mean the end of that business.
Euronext Cybersecurity World Index Key Principles
Cybersecurity Programme
The Euronext® Cybersecurity World Index tracks the performance of large cap companies expertly managing their cybersecurity programme, privacy and data security policy and data privacy programme.
Data Privacy & Security Policy
Exclusion of companies not implementing an adequate, strong or very strong policy in terms of collecting, disclosing and protecting consumers’ personal information.
Data Privacy Programme
Exclusion of companies not implementing adequate, robust or very strong privacy management controls
Data assessed by Sustainalytics
The Euronext ® Cybersecurity World Index methodology also includes a negative screening component which excludes companies involved in controversial activities, tobacco, controversial weapons, thermal coal extraction, shale energy, oil sands and artic oil and gas exploration and extraction or specific tailor-made and essential Controversial Weapons.

The Euronext Biodiversity Screened World Index offers opportunities for a large range of investment vehicles such as ETFs, funds and structured products.
Learn more about the Euronext Cybersecurity World Index
Euronext Cybersecurity World Index Live Quotes
Euronext Cybersecurity World Index Rules | Euronext Cybersecurity World Index Factsheet
Euronext Cybersecurity World Index ESG Report
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Watch the presentation:
Contact us at index-team@euronext.com
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Who are the market participants in trading?
Trading Market Participants
Claudia Kerr, Head of Business Management at Euronext presents a few examples in this video.
Listen to the full interview, watch the video:
Who are the main trading market participants?
There are several types of market players involved in the trading workflow who interact with an exchange such as Euronext, with different roles and objectives. Within financial markets, there are three distinct categories: the buy-side, the sell-side and the liquidity providers.
- Buy-side can refer to institutions or individuals that are buying financial products for investment purposes. They are not directly connected to trading platforms, such as the exchange, and therefore access the market via an intermediary to execute their trades.
Buy-side firms can also create investment products that are listed on stock exchanges for them to be traded.
Finally, there are some buy-side firms who trade on their own account, and they are defined according to their execution strategy within the market. - Sell-side are the intermediary that facilitate the buying and selling of financial products for investors on a trading platform. They may also provide research and analysis to help their clients make informed investment decisions.
- Liquidity providers and market makers are institutions that provide prices in the trading order book in order to guarantee sufficient liquidity.
What is a broker?
The role of a broker-dealer (sell-side) is to facilitate trading by connecting investors that buy and sell, whether these are institutional or individual investors.
These are usually a bank, and they can vary from large international firms to smaller local boutiques. Brokers can either be directly connected to trading platforms, including stock exchanges like Euronext, or, in the case of some smaller brokers, outsource the execution of their flow to bigger brokers.
In short, they are the intermediary between the investor and the trading platform, routing the investors’ order for it to be matched, and therefore traded.
What is an asset manager?
Asset managers (buy-side) are trading firms, often banks, that manage the investment portfolios of individuals, corporations, or institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies. Their primary goal is to maximise the returns on their clients' investments.
Asset managers create a variety of investment products, such as funds (for instance a UCIT), ETFs, Structured Products, etc., that they can list (or issue) on an exchange for their clients to trade. In this case, they are called “issuers”.
They often have a long-term investment horizon.
What are market makers and liquidity providers?
‘Liquidity’ equals prices and counterparties to match with.
Market makers and liquidity providers are trading firms that trade on their own account, and their primary goal is to ensure that there is sufficient liquidity in the trading platform’s order book, by providing continuously buy and sell prices (or quotes) for securities. This helps to stabilise prices and ensure that buyers and sellers can execute trades efficiently.
Euronext has the largest and deepest liquidity pool in Europe, which means it is where there are the most investors and brokers trading. Many exchanges have deals with market makers / LPs for them to provide liquidity on their trading platform. This this is the case for Euronext, as we have many liquidity programmes that help to ensure superior market quality, or the best execution, for its end clients.
What is a hedge fund?
Hedge funds manage money from a limited number of investors, with high leverage – meaning using a lot of borrowed funds or debt - and aim at generating high returns by using more complex investment strategies with an algorithmic approach.
These involve taking both long and short term positions in different markets. In contrast to traditional asset managers, their investment strategies can result in higher risks.
What is a high-frequency trader?
HFTs are banks, market makers or hedge funds, that use algorithms and very advanced technology to execute trades at a very high speed. They often execute a large number of trades in a short period of time to capture small price movements.
What about individual investors?
Individual investors, or retail traders, trade with their personal funds. They don’t have direct access to trading platforms, so they typically trade through online brokers and use their own analysis and trading strategies.
There are many more players in the trading ecosystem, that enables trading through data, interfaces or connectivity, or that play a role once the trade has been executed, including the clearing houses and the central securities depositories.
Successful implementation of SRD II in Norway: Euronext Securities continues to deliver on Growth for Impact 2024 strategic plan
On 1 July 2023, Euronext Securities implemented the Shareholder Rights Directive II (“SRD II”) in the Norwegian market.
Thanks to this implementation, critical processes such as shareholder identification, proxy voting and general meetings in Norway are now harmonised with the rest of Europe, making it easier for shareholders, especially international ones, to exercise their governance rights in Norwegian companies.
In 2021, Euronext launched its Growth for Impact 2024 strategy, where the Group committed to pan-Europeanise Euronext Securities and, in particular, to mutualise and harmonise our infrastructure to facilitate access to local market served by Euronext Securities, such as Norway.
With the SRD II implementation in Norway, we now, for the first time, operate a common platform across multiple Euronext CSDs, paving the way for further harmonisation to the benefit of issuers and investors.
Harmonising the customer experience across markets
Alexander Wathne, Product Manager at Euronext Securities Oslo, explains how the CSD was able to manage the complexity of the SRD II implementation. “One of the benefits of being part of a network of CSDs is that you can learn from each other and leverage expertise from our colleagues in other CSDs. In this case, since Euronext Securities Copenhagen had already implemented SRD II in September 2020, it made sense that we would work closely with them during the process,” he says. “Thus, where it made sense, we could implement a shared technical solution and processes that could support a more harmonised customer experience across our two CSDs.”
Specifically, both organisations now use the same proxy voting solution, which is built on the harmonised ISO 20022 format. “Clients who access our CSD services in Copenhagen and Oslo will now be met with the same user interface, the same messaging format and processing standards that STP processing makes possible,” Alexander Wathne explains. “This will create a more consistent customer experience across our markets in the Nordic region.”
Norwegian issuers can now gain greater shareholder insight
Implementing SRD II also means Norwegian issuers can access a wider range of Euronext services. For example, the shareholder identification aspect of SRD II can be combined with Shareholder Analysis, a service offered by Euronext Corporate Services, to give listed companies more insight into their shareholder base and investor behaviour.
Another benefit of SRD II is that the Norwegian process of transferring shares in the CSD register to obtain voting rights has been made obsolete. This process, where shares voted on seemed to be blocked, but were rather moved into another account, has for years been a challenge for cross-border ownership via Nominee account. With the launch of the new general meeting solutions this process is no longer necessary. In addition the enhanced communication flow via ISO 20022 messaging has provided more transparency in vote processing. For example, shareholders using proxy voting now receive a message confirming the execution of their meeting vote.
A successful first step towards a common Corporate Actions platform
Issuers working with Euronext Securities Oslo didn’t have to wait long to experience the newly harmonised process. The first general meeting under SRD II took place one week after the go-live date, and since then, the CSD has facilitated multiple general meetings where shareholders have votes with the new processes. Feedback has been positive.
When commenting on the successful implementation, Pierre Davoust, Head of CSDs at Euronext, said: “The SRD II implementation in Oslo, in particular on proxy voting, demonstrates the benefits of Euronext Securities’ strategy for European markets: by rolling-out the same service and the same platform across our CSDs, we make it easier for customers to access multiple local markets. We expect this implementation to materially enhance the ability of cross-border investors to exercise their governance rights in Norwegian companies – the same way we saw a clear increase of cross-border voting activity in Denmark this year where the number went up from 15,000 to 18,000.
Euronext Securities is already working with customers on the next steps of the harmonisation journey: in July 2023, we released our Corporate Events White Paper, outlining our vision for the future of corporate events (often referred to as corporate actions) across the local markets we support. In November 2023, we intend to release the new common corporate events service in Copenhagen and Porto, for fixed income securities. We also intend to go live on a new, common billing platform in these two markets at the same date.
Reach out to your local Euronext Securities contact if you have any questions about the implementation of SRD II and how Euronext Securities can support you.
Specifically, please do not hesitate to contact Alexander Wathne or Nicholas Schulz for information on the implementation of Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II) in the Norwegian market.
Euronext publishes 1,900 ESG company profiles
Euronext launches My ESG Profile, the new tool showcasing listed companies’ sustainability efforts and facilitating investors’ access to ESG data.
Euronext has become the first stock exchange to make the ESG data of its issuers available in a standardised format on its website. Since Monday 13 November, nearly 1,900 company ESG profiles are displayed on Euronext Live.
Centralising ESG information for the benefit of the market
The objective of My ESG Profile is to support the transition to a sustainable economy, by providing listed companies with a digital tool that they can use to centralise relevant ESG information, showcasing to the market their sustainability efforts, while facilitating investors’ access to this key data to inform their sustainable investment decisions.
This initiative contributes to enhancing transparency in financial markets and to the democratisation of access to reliable ESG data. It forms part of Euronext’s support for issuers at all stages of their ESG journey to accelerate the transition to a European economy aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. It is thus at the heart of Euronext’s strategy to shape capital markets for future generations.
Over 60,000 ESG data points now available on Euronext Live
Each profile contains a standardised ESG data section powered by Euronext and its data partner. Around 30 key ESG indicators were screened against issuers’ annual reports and other publications.
These indicators are sourced from key European regulations such as the EU Taxonomy, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scopes 1, 2, 3), GHG intensity, carbon footprint, board gender diversity, gender pay gap, energy intensity, emissions to water, hazardous waste and share of non-renewable energy consumption and production. The data also includes information on the eligibility and alignment of companies' turnover, OpEx, and CapEx with the EU Taxonomy.
With this initiative, Euronext places non-financial data on the same level as financial data, with the ambition to increase the accessibility of the key ESG data points published by its issuers.
Issuers have the option to upload additional information to their profiles through Euronext’s customer portal, including ESG achievements and goals, documents, ESG ratings and contact details.They can also choose not to display an ESG profile. Before the launch, issuers were given six weeks to review and enrich their profiles to have them ready for publication.

What’s next?
The launch of this service marks an important milestone in Euronext’s ambition to provide concrete tools and guidance on ESG to all its listed companies, while facilitating investor-issuer dialogue on ESG matters. Euronext will continue to enrich this service based on issuer and investor needs and regulatory evolutions.
A key part of Euronext’s ESG strategy is to continue to develop products and services designed to empower companies in their pursuit of ESG goals and to channel investments towards sustainable projects.
For enquiries about the full dataset, please contact: pmcs-equitylisting@euronext.com
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