Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler

What Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler does

Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler AG is a Hamburg-based, BaFin-licensed financial services institution (ID 129360) that operates Germany's largest exchange-supervised secondary market for closed-end fund participations. Founded in 2004 and operating under the regulatory framework of BÖAG Börsen AG (the umbrella organization of the Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Hannover stock exchanges), the company enables investors to buy and sell participations in approximately 4,500 listed closed-end funds — covering real estate, shipping, renewable energy, aircraft, private equity, and other alternative investment vehicles — before maturity. Its proprietary online trading portal (handel.zweitmarkt.de) is powered by eFonds AG and implements three certified price-determination methods (bidding, uniform price, and fixed price), with all trades executed under formal exchange supervision.

The company's product portfolio centers on the Zweitmarkt.de secondary trading platform and has expanded into adjacent offerings: Erstmarkt.de for primary market subscriptions of closed Alternative Investment Funds (launched 2017), Fondsbörse Private Markets for SPEZIAL-AIF trading by professional and semi-professional investors, Private Markets Solutions for electronic investment brokerage and advisory, and Privatemarket Xchange (PMX) for fully digital subscription infrastructure. Deutsche Zweitmarkt, previously a wholly-owned subsidiary, was merged into the parent in 2019, and the company holds a majority stake in FinTech startup Capital Pioneers.

The business model is transaction-based, generating revenue from brokerage commissions (Courtage) on each mediated trade, listing and inclusion fees for fund initiators (including premium segment fees), and placement fees for primary market subscriptions. Customer segments are dominated by retail/private investors (70% of buyers, 90% of sellers), with institutional investors representing approximately 30% of buy-side activity; over 780 fund initiators list participations on the platform. Distribution combines a self-service online portal, direct advisory support for complex transactions (inheritance transfers, large blocks), and cooperation programs with banks and financial intermediaries. Since 2004, the company has facilitated trading of over €3 billion in nominal capital, with €312 million and 7,471 transactions recorded in 2017.

Name

Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler

Legal name

Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler AG

Website

https://zweitmarkt.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler AG operates Germany's largest exchange-supervised secondary market for closed-end fund participations through its Zweitmarkt.de platform, serving private investors, institutions, and 780+ fund initiators with brokerage, primary subscriptions, and private markets solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Investments Brokerage

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEAIAB

Lower Middle-Market Business Brokerage

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Business Brokerage (Buying/Selling Private Businesses)

SECONDARYFSAEAIAC

Sell-Side Business Brokerage

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Business Brokerage (Buying/Selling Private Businesses)

SECONDARYFSAEAIAD

Buy-Side Search & Acquisition Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Business Brokerage (Buying/Selling Private Businesses)

Keywords

• Closed-end fund trading
• Secondary fund marketplace
• Alternative investments brokerage
• Private markets trading
• Fund participation intermediation

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Brokerage commissions on secondary market trades: The company earns commissions (Courtage) and fees on each transaction mediated through its trading platform. Vermittlungsstatistiken represent gross values that are reduced by commissions and other charges. Transaction-based revenue from facilitating the purchase and sale of closed fund participations on the secondary market.
2. First market (Erstmarkt) placement services: Operating erstmarkt.de, a subscription platform for closed Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), facilitating primary market subscriptions for fund houses and investors. Revenue generated from placement and subscription facilitation services.
3. Premium segment listing fees: Fund initiators and fund companies can list shares in the Premium segment of the exchange for enhanced visibility, subject to annual reporting obligations and additional listing requirements per the market order.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler AG operates Germany's largest and oldest exchange-supervised secondary marketplace (Zweitmarkt.de) for trading participations in closed-end funds, including real estate, ship, renewable energy, aircraft, and other alternative investment funds before maturity. The firm mediates buy and sell orders through a regulated trading platform organized by the BÖAG Börsen AG (Börsen Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover), applying certified price-finding procedures (bidding, uniform price, fixed price) for transparent execution.

Product overview

Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler AG operates a multi-platform ecosystem for trading closed-end fund participations. The core product is Zweitmarkt.de, Germany's largest trading platform for closed-end funds with approximately 4,500 listed funds. The company also offers specialized private markets solutions through Fondsbörse Private Markets (FPM) for professional investors, Deutsche Zweitmarkt for exclusive buy/sell offers, and Fondsbörse Privatemarket Xchange (PMX) for fully digital subscription infrastructure. The platforms are exchange-supervised by the BÖAG Börsen AG (Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Hannover stock exchanges) and the company has facilitated over 3 billion euros in nominal capital trading since 2004.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Deutsche Zweitmarkt: Exclusive purchase and sale offers for closed-end funds.
• Fondsbörse Private Markets
• Private Markets Solutions
• Private Market Xchange

Products and services

• Zweitmarkt.de Trading Platform Germany's largest independent and exchange-supervised online trading platform enabling investors to buy and sell approximately 4,500 listed closed-end fund participations (real estate, shipping, wind power, private equity, and other special funds) before maturity. Targeted at private investors, institutional investors, and financial intermediaries.
• Fondsbörse Private Markets (FPM) Specialized trading platform for SPEZIAL-AIF (Special Alternative Investment Funds) in Private Markets, designed for professional and semi-professional investors to access and trade alternative investment products under a dedicated infrastructure.
• Deutsche Zweitmarkt Exclusive buy and sell offers service for closed-end fund participations, providing tailored off-platform brokerage opportunities for clients seeking direct counterparty matches.
• Maklerauftrag (Brokerage Mandate) Formal brokerage contract service enabling clients to authorize Fondsbörse Deutschland to buy or sell closed-end fund participations on their behalf, with personalized online generation pre-filled with client data.
• Erstmarkt.de (Primary Market Platform) Primary market subscription platform for closed Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), facilitating new fund share subscriptions from fund initiators to investors and extending the firm's reach beyond secondary trading.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over €3 billion in nominal capital traded since 2004, including €312 million in 2017 alone with 7,471 transactions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BÖAG Börsen AG (Trägergesellschaft der Börsen Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBÖAG Börsen AG is the market operator (trustee/carrier) of the Fondsbörse Deutschland. It is the parent company of the stock exchanges in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Hannover. It sets the market rules (Marktordnung), decides on inclusion of fund shares, conducts market surveillance, and appoints broker companies. The trading platform is operated under the exchange's regulatory framework.
• eFonds AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationeFonds AG (Albert-Roßhaupter-Str. 43, 81369 München) provides the electronic trading platform infrastructure (handel.zweitmarkt.de) for order management, execution, and settlement. A data processing agreement (AVV) under Article 28 GDPR is in place. This is a critical technology partner enabling the core trading operations.
• Deutsche Zweitmarkt AG (subsidiary)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeutsche Zweitmarkt AG is a wholly-owned subsidiary that operates in parallel to the parent company, facilitating additional transactions. Cooperation between the two entities generated 70+ joint transactions per month in 2017-2018. The two companies have since merged (as noted in press releases).
• Various fund initiators (AXA Merkens, CFB, CONTI, DFH, DG Anlage, Dr. Peters, DWS, Hannover Leasing, HGA, and 780+ others)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 780 different fund initiators list their closed fund participations on the platform. These include major German asset managers and fund sponsors whose fund shares are admitted to trading on the exchange. Without these listings, the platform's value proposition would not exist.
• Banks and Vermögensverwalter (cooperation partners)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCooperation program for banks and asset managers who refer clients to the platform for closed fund trading. Partners benefit from attractive commission arrangements and optimal sales outcomes for their clients. A dedicated flyer is available for Vermögensverwalter (asset managers).
• Capital PioneersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFondsbörse Deutschland acquired a majority stake in the FinTech startup Capital Pioneers to expand its technology capabilities and digital infrastructure for private markets products.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Nasdaq Private Market (formerly SecondMarket): Operates regulated secondary markets for private and illiquid securities. Conceptually the closest international peer — a regulated, technology-enabled secondary venue for illiquid participations — though US-focused and serving a different asset universe.
• flatexDEGIRO AG: Large German online broker with broad fund and securities trading capabilities. Comparable as a retail-facing securities intermediary that could expand into specialized closed-end fund secondary trading; represents a disintermediation risk for niche specialists.

Broad incumbents

• Tradegate Exchange: Berlin-based German exchange specializing in retail order flow and a wide range of securities. Comparable as another German exchange venue that supports secondary trading of various instruments including fund-related products.
• Baader Bank AG: Major German capital-markets bank that operates the Gettex exchange and provides securities services to issuers and intermediaries. Comparable through its exchange operations, fund services, and intermediation role for retail and institutional clients.
• BÖAG Börsen AG (Börsen Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover): The exchange operator and regulatory umbrella under which Fondsbörse Deutschland conducts its exchange-supervised trading. While a partner rather than a direct competitor, BÖAG sets market rules, conducts market surveillance, and could in principle license competing brokers onto its venues.
• Allfunds Group: Pan-European B2B fund distribution and wealthtech platform. Comparable at the platform-and-distribution level as a regulated European infrastructure provider for fund products, though focused on open-ended UCITS rather than closed-ended secondary trading.

Direct peers

• mwb fairtrade Wertpapierhandelsbank AG: German specialist securities services bank focused on smaller-cap equities, illiquid securities, and closed-end fund trading. Closely comparable business model as a specialist broker for less-liquid German securities and fund participations.
• Börse Stuttgart: Operates one of Germany's major retail-facing exchanges, including a segment for closed-end fund (Closed-end Fonds) trading. It is the most direct competing venue for German retail closed-end fund secondary trading and offers similar exchange-supervised price discovery.

Regional players

• ICF BANK AG: German securities services bank with a focus on closed-end fund intermediation and capital markets services. Comparable as a domestic German intermediary in the same asset class with overlap in fund brokerage and distribution.
• Lang & Schwarz TradeCenter: German exchange operator and specialist broker for retail securities, including fund participations. Comparable as a domestic trading venue providing retail investors with access to closed-end funds and similar instruments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Zweitmarkt
• Facebookfacebook.com/fondsboersedeutschland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondsb-rse-deutschland-beteiligungsmakler-ag

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fondsbörse Deutschland Beteiligungsmakler