GEX – German Entrepreneurial Index

GEX® is the new index of Deutsche Börse for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) – so-called German 'Mittelstand'. It started on 3 January 2005 and includes “owner-dominated” companies that are listed in the Prime Standard segment of FWB® Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and that have first gone public less than ten years ago. By now more than 120 companies of widely differing sizes fit this bill. There are in fact many companies that do not belong to the DAX® and MDAX®, and are still in large part owned by their founders, or by management and supervisory board members. GEX is thus the new indicator for the stock-market performance of small and medium-sized enterprises and adds to the existing indices of the DAX family.

Main inclusion criteria

• GEX member companies must be “owner-dominated”. In other words, the management and supervisory board members or their families must hold between 25 and 75 percent of the voting rights.
• The GEX includes German companies that are listed in the Prime Standard segment of FWB Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
• Even if the company has a long-standing tradition, it must have first gone public less than ten years ago.

Opportunities for market players

GEX ensures owner-dominated SMEs greater visibility in the capital market. Corporations that are not listed but are similar to GEX-member companies in terms of structure can take the new SME index as a benchmark for calculating capital costs on the exchanges. Issuers of unit fund products can take the GEX as a new underlying for derivatives and as an investment showcase. For investors, the GEX is an indicator that provides clear statements on the performance of SMEs whose management is owner-dominated.