Corporate bonds are becoming increasingly popular

It is no coin­ci­dence that listed bonds issued by medium-sized compa­nies are enjoy­ing strong demand. They provide a stable and flexi­ble alter­na­tive to “clas­sic” debt finan­cing when a company no longer wishes to expose itself to the incre­asingly rest­ric­tive lending condi­ti­ons of its prin­ci­pal bank. In addi­tion, they offer private inves­tors an invest­ment poten­tial that appears not to be too risky and promi­ses a higher return compared to other fixed-income invest­ments. Some compa­nies also use the bonds, which are prima­rily aimed at private inves­tors, as a lobby­ing tool for their brand. Mittel­stands­bonds are now traded on seve­ral German stock exch­an­ges, with the Stutt­gart Stock Exch­ange clearly leading the way with its “Bondm” segment and a trading volume of around 70%. — Dr. Andrea Geiger, Part­ner at SKW Schwarz, explains what oppor­tu­ni­ties corpo­rate bonds offer.