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. 

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The Euronext Biodiversity Screened World Index offers opportunities for a large range of investment vehicles such as ETFs, funds and structured products. 

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Euronext Cybersecurity World Index Rules   |   Euronext Cybersecurity World Index Factsheet

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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. 

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 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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