For centuries, stock exchanges were operated according to the same pattern: the participants met in dedicated buildings and traded every day for several hours by open outcry. The exclamation “Geld” (bid) meant that someone intended to buy whilst “Brief” (ask) was cried out if someone intended to sell. A preceding number represented the price.

Open outcry trading is still practised on the so-called trading floor of FWB Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange). During the exchange trading hours, traders, independent brokers and lead brokers gather there. The traders are employees of banks and financial service providers. They buy and sell securities on behalf of their customers. Independent brokers, however, trade for their own account. Although the Exchange Council admitted them to participation in exchange trading, they are not sworn in. Independent brokers may conduct transactions in officially quoted securities but they may not quote any prices.

At present, only a small percentage of the orders is traded on the trading floor. And even there trading is no longer possible without computers. Through Xontro, the electronic order routing system, the orders are transferred directly from the bank to the exchange and then to the order books of the lead brokers. Most orders are currently traded fully electronically via the trading platform Xetra®.