An opening bell ceremony was held at Borsa İstanbul for the 5th anniversary of the launch of warrants, with the participation of Deutsche Bank and İs Investment.

The opening bell ceremony held on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the launch of warrants on Borsa İstanbul, aimed at improving and deepening the Turkish capital markets, brought together prominent names of the Turkish capital and finance markets.

Borsa İstanbul Executive Vice President Aydın Seyman, Turkish Capital Markets Association Chairman İlhami Koç, executives of Deutsche Bank and Is Investment as well as the leading professionals of the Turkish capital markets participated in the ceremony, where the importance of warrants for the markets and the development of the market were discussed.

“As of September 30, we had an increase of 25% compared to the same period last year, reaching a premium volume of TL 5.47 billion in the Warrant Market”

The ceremony was organized with the participation of Deutsche Bank and Is Investment, the two issuers of warrants in the capital markets. In his speech, Borsa İstanbul Executive Vice President Aydın Seyman expressed his pleasure for the rise of the warrant market in Turkey, adding:

“Warrants started trading on Borsa İstanbul Equity Market five years ago, in August 2010. We have reached a premium volume of TL 5.47 billion as of September 30, representing an increase by 25% compared to the previous year. Such speed is very pleasing for us. In a competitive environment where not all financial instruments attract investors, and where some instruments are shelved, warrants have become popular among investors. Doubtless, Deutsche Bank and Is Investment have played the major role in this success, thanks to their vision and contributions to improve the warrant market as issuer and market maker. These two distinguished institutions did not only support product diversification at Borsa İstanbul through contributing to the creation of a liquid and organized market, but also made a direct effect on deepening the Turkish capital markets by attracting new investors to our platforms. So far, over 5,300 warrants have been launched on the market, and currently 575 warrants are traded. This success is directly attributable to the devotion of intermediaries and investors. Within this framework, we expect the other intermediaries to work with the same mindset as our two warrant issuers.”

“Warrants proved to be permanent in the market in the last five years, while also contributing to making Istanbul a real financial center.”

Turkish Capital Markets Association Chairman İlhami Koç pointed out to the fact that such products are necessary to make Istanbul a real financial center and diversity should be underlined. Koç said:

“The initial studies on derivatives started in mid 90s in Borsa İstanbul. Although it was possible to launch derivatives at the time, these products were introduced for trading only after 2001, when their hedging purposes were understood. Warrants filled a significant space in the market.

It is worth saying that warrants are first and foremost dynamic instruments; theoretically, you can issue warrants on any assets. It started off with equities at Borsa İstanbul, followed by foreign currency, commodities, and various other products. And secondly, Turkish people like leveraged products. An important feature of warrants is that they limit risk, allowing investing with leverage. Therefore, warrants carry all the features of options contracts.

Third, liquidity is very important. By liquidity, we mean not that of the warrant itself, but that of the underlying asset; since normally, traders trade with an expectation in the market; but with the introduction of warrants, for the first time, market participants started to engage in hedging transactions, which increased the liquidity of the underlying equity or other security. Furthermore, thanks to the trades on such products, the price discovery in the market became more reliable”.

“It became possible to invest in indices such as Nasdaq100, S&P500, and DAX in the same way as investing in a domestic equity traded on Borsa İstanbul”

Deutsche Bank Turkey Chairman Ersin Akyüz expressed the importance they attach to the development of the warrant market, as the first issuer of warrants in Turkey, adding:

“In the fifth year of warrants in Turkey, we are pleased with the current position of these products, attracting increased interest from the investors. In the last five years, our team has done its best for the establishment and improvement of this market, with the support of all of our stakeholders. We strive to reflect Deutsche Bank’s global experience in this field in Turkey, with the best examples. We are proud to have kept the promises we made in the beginning. In the last five years, Deutsche Bank has issued 2,969 warrants and certificates on 22 different assets. In addition to domestic assets, we offered the prominent indices of the world, ranging from Japan to the US, to Borsa İstanbul investors. Therefore, investors were able to invest in indices such as Nasdaq100, S&P500, and DAX in the same way as investing in a domestic equity traded on Borsa İstanbul. In addition to warrants, we issued spread warrants and certificates. During this period, we made an effort to raise awareness on the side of the investors and all participants of the capital markets, and we will continue to do so. During this period, we have always tried to raise awareness on the side of investors and all stakeholders of the capital markets, and will continue to do so. In hundreds of public seminars, we informed investors and market professionals about the opportunities and risks of warrants. In the forthcoming period, we will continue to offer new products that will open new horizons for market participants.”

“The most important success of issuers is that they employ technology and training and the importance they attach to one-on-one training."

Is Investment Chief Executive Erdal Aral said:

“We believe that it is a huge success to have realized a traded value of TL 25 billion in the Warrant Market, with more than 5 thousand issues. Behind this success is the fact that issuers employ technology and training, and attach special importance to training.

As the first Turkish investment company to offer warrants to investors, we have issued 2,190 Is warrants on index, equity, gold, foreign currency, petroleum, and outperformance warrants. Along with warrants, underlying assets also increased, which contributed to the opportunity to trade on the spot markets. We came across new jargon, and investors learned to engage in outperformance warrants with Is Investment. Thanks to Is warrants, we were able to offer investors the opportunity to engage in leveraged trades at low costs. We believe that, from now on, traded values and other figures will increase geometrically.”