[Foreign language]
[Foreign language] Despite the very positive experience we have had with the virtual format, I would like to emphasize at this point that we have not yet determined the format for our future annual general meetings.
I would also like to mention that for today's meeting, we have again decided that we will not ask you to submit your questions to the company before the AGM, which would restrict the right to ask questions during the AGM. So, shareholders, you have the right to speak and ask us questions during today's AGM. We will answer them during the meeting. I look forward to a lively exchange with you. [Foreign language] This AGM is being held pursuant to proper notice in the Federal Gazette on March 25th , 2024. Since that day, the notice of the meeting and any other mandatory documents have been available on the company's website, as has any additional or explanatory information.
Said documents are also available on the website during this AGM. I shall therefore refrain from explaining them again in detail at this point. All members of the supervisory and executive boards are present in person at today's virtual AGM. So is Ms. Kozmiensky, who is standing as a member of the supervisory board. She's going to introduce herself later on when I explain the agenda. The minutes of this AGM will be kept by our notary, Dr. Martin Schmidt. Welcome, sir. Also present in the room are the two company-appointed proxies. Later on, they are going to exercise the voting rights entrusted to them as per shareholders' instructions. We are making video and audio recordings of the entire AGM. Furthermore, the full AGM is being streamed live for shareholders and any other interested parties. The record of attendance is being prepared even as we speak.
I'm going to inform you about the attendance count once the record is completed, or at the latest, before the first vote. At this virtual AGM, voting rights can be exercised either by postal ballot or by giving power of attorney and instructions to the two company-appointed proxies. Our online service allows you to hand in or amend postal votes on the agenda items until we have reached the end of the voting process. Should you wish to exercise your voting rights by issuing instructions to the two company-appointed proxies, please do so when I let you know that the time has come during the vote. To exercise your voting right, please use the relevant buttons in the online service. To access the online service, please enter your shareholder number and personal identification number or password you selected when registering for the online service.
The proxies appointed by shareholders are requested to use the access data we sent them. At today's virtual AGM, the right to speak, to ask for information, and to table motions can be exercised exclusively by using the video function of our online service. As announced in the notice of meeting, I state for the record that questions may only be asked by video. Please make sure that your contribution is limited to the items on the agenda or, if applicable, raises a point of order. In the interest of all shareholders, I would also ask you to be reasonably brief. As the meeting chair, it is my duty to ensure that the annual general meeting proceeds in a compliant and appropriate manner.
This includes my authority to set time limits for speaking and questioning during the AGM, should I deem this necessary, especially if there are registered speakers who have not yet had the chance to speak. With this in mind, I would ask you to register as a speaker right now if you plan to take the floor on any agenda items. Today's debate will be conducted as a general debate, the format you are familiar with from our previous AGMs. This means you will be free to address any agenda item. There is no need to register separate speaking requests for different agenda items. The same applies if you'd like to ask any questions. A button labeled "Request to speak" has been available in our online service since today's AGM was declared open. When you are called, please feel free to comment and ask questions or both.
To announce a motion or election proposal, please use the button labeled "Motion/Election Proposal," which is also available in our online service. It will be possible to use the Request to Speak button to file motions or election proposals as well when you speak, as long as I have not closed the list of speakers or closed the general debate. But it would be helpful if you could announce any motions or election proposals by using the corresponding button. This will enable me to assess and determine whether it is justified or necessary to prioritize your contribution over other speaking requests. This AGM is being conducted in German, with a non-binding convenience translation into English. Any questions asked in English will be translated into and answered in German. This is another way of enabling a larger number of shareholders to take an active part in this meeting.
Mind you, this is a voluntary service. Please understand that we can guarantee neither the availability nor the accuracy of the translation. Next, allow me to explain how to ask for the floor and take part in the debate. When asking for the floor, please be sure to enter a telephone number in the relevant online service field, so that we can get in touch with you in case of technical problems. Before going live, you can use the online service to check whether your camera and microphone are actually working. Please do make use of this function. In the general debate, I'm going to call blocks of speakers and ask them to enter our virtual waiting room. There, you will be connected to a technician who is going to double-check whether you can be seen and heard.
After this functional check, and once I've given you the floor, the AGM will be able to see and hear you live, and you can address attendees, ask questions, or table motions. Live communication between shareholders and the company requires a stable video link. If the link's stability is insufficient, I'm afraid we'll have to reject your contribution or cut it short if the link breaks off. Recommendations on how best to set up video communication were provided to you as part of the online service's terms of use. There, you will also find a telephone number for our hotline. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with them if you're having technical problems. Ladies and gentlemen, through the online service, our shareholders and shareholder representatives had the opportunity to submit statements in the run-up to the AGM. Any statements can be viewed on our website.
Duly registered and virtually participating shareholders and shareholder representatives can use the online service to raise objections against the resolutions passed by the AGM during the entire length of the meeting. Pursuant to Section 131, subsection 5 of the German Stock Corporation Act, or Aktiengesetz, they may demand that the minutes identify any questions which they feel have not been answered at all or not to their satisfaction. For both actions, there are buttons in the online service which will trigger a notification to the notary. Should you wish to raise an objection or demand that something be minuted, please do not wait until the very last minute, as there might be delays in the internet stream. That concludes my initial remarks on the formalities of this meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, I now proceed to the business to be transacted.
Agenda item one deals with the adopted annual financial statements and the approved consolidated financial statements, and the combined management report of Deutsche Börse Aktiengesellschaft and the group as at December 31st, 2023. And the explanatory report on disclosures pursuant to Sections 289a and 315a of the German Commercial Code, or HGB. Furthermore, it deals with the report of the supervisory board and the proposal for the appropriation of the unappropriated surplus. The aforementioned documents have been available on the company's website since the AGM was called on March 25th, 2024. They will be available there during the entire AGM. Ladies and gentlemen, before I explain the report of the supervisory board to you, allow me to address a matter which is close to my heart. For our CEO, Dr.
Theodor Weimer, this is his seventh year of leading Deutsche Börse AG, and it will be the last in his tenure. Today also marks his last annual general meeting as CEO of Deutsche Börse AG. Theodor Weimer took office as CEO of Deutsche Börse at a time of deep uncertainty. While performance figures were sound at the time, the perception of Deutsche Börse by the public, by legislators, and regulatory bodies had suffered badly. This was not without consequence, both for the inner state of Deutsche Börse and regarding its scope of entrepreneurial options. From this starting position, Theodor Weimer and his Executive Board team were able to achieve an impressive turnaround. By introducing an attitude of action and ownership, as well as creating trust among regulators and the markets, he was able to rebuild the organization.
Theodor Weimer has rightfully led Deutsche Börse back to being a self-confident company, which its employees take pride in, and which has regained the trust of the public, markets, investors, as well as policymakers and regulators, as tested by numerous awards, and last but certainly not least, the results of our annual employee survey. Theodor Weimer has led Deutsche Börse to new strengths and innovative power. The figures and strategic measures which he is about to present in his own speech provide tangible proof of his accomplishments. Theodor, my sincerest congratulations on everything you have achieved. Thank you on behalf of the entire supervisory board. It is, however, not yet time to say goodbye. Theodor Weimer, along with his creative and inspirational energy, will remain, fortunately, with the company until the end of the year. But let me emphasize this, a highly capable successor has already been appointed.
Somebody who, during the entire term of office of Theodor Weimer, has been a member of the executive board, and that's Dr. Stephan Leithner . He's the sixth CEO in the history of Deutsche Börse AG. Stephan Leithner steps into the role knowing the company and its stakeholders inside out, and this also signifies a commitment to continuity, ladies and gentlemen, not without significance for a company such as ours. He is and has been the executive board member responsible for Deutsche Börse business area, with the strongest and most successful development over the last seven years, P re- & Post-Trading, i.e., Data & Analytics, post-trade, and fund services. This development has culminated in the establishment of the Investment Management Solutions segment, following the acquisition of SimCorp, in which Stephan Leithner has played a key role.
If you're looking for where the action is taking place in today's global capital market infrastructures, it's in Data & Analytics. Stephan Leithner was also heavily involved in shaping the further refined Horizon 2026 strategy. These are excellent starting conditions for the succession of Theodor Weimer. On a personal note, I regard Stephan Leithner as a leader of great integrity. So, Stephan, I'm delighted for you to take on this role and wish you every success. The capable and experienced management of Deutsche Börse is crucial at a time characterized by one overarching theme, which is transformation. We live in a time of further accelerated digitalization. We live in a time of decarbonization, and we're living in an age of global demographic change. Without a strong capital market, we as a society will not succeed in mastering this threefold transformation.
Meeting these challenges requires the mobilization of enormous financial resources. We're living in an era which might be compared to that of the construction of the railroads, perhaps. The invention of automobility, the transition to industrial mass production, and the birth of the internet. Today's equivalents of that are artificial intelligence, 5G, the cloud, quantum computing, smart grids, and perhaps hydrogen terminals. As in the past, the capital market will continue to play a crucial role in funding and shaping the measures for this necessary transformation. In keeping with the motto, "What I cannot prevent, I must accelerate." This transformation also opens up vast opportunities, and who better to coordinate and channel the swarm intelligence of market participants into investments than stock exchanges? Policy makers have recognized this as well, and are bringing new momentum into the efforts to create a genuine European capital markets union.
At last month's Brussels summit, the EU heads of state and government held intensive talks on the capital markets union. They tasked the EU Commission and the national finance ministers to finally get serious about the project of, and I quote, "Truly integrated European capital markets." I wholeheartedly welcome this appeal. Pension schemes investing in the capital market are finally also picking up speed in Germany. They not only enable us to stabilize our pension system in the long term, the only way, really, but also give citizens a stake in the success of our companies, and thereby simultaneously mobilize new funds for innovation, investments, and transformation. These funds can be used in an efficient and targeted way to achieve entrepreneurial objectives. Without private capital, even the most efficiently run state, which we unfortunately are very far from at present, cannot successfully manage transformation.
Capital is not what makes the entire economy, but without it, the entire economy amounts to nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, let me now provide an overview of our activities in the Supervisory Board within the past financial year. In doing so, I will explain the report of the Supervisory Board. The latter is part of the Deutsche Börse Group Annual Report 2023, which I will refer to. I shall, however, limit my statements to what is essential. In the reporting year, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG dealt in depth and regularly with the company's position, prospects, and fundamental strategic options. The Supervisory Board was also involved in an advisory capacity in Deutsche Börse Group's activities to buy and sell companies and parts thereof. We continued our overarching work on environmental, social, and governance matters, ESG being the well-known acronym.
In the reporting year, we concentrated on the social aspects of ESG. Our work in 2023 was dominated by a difficult, ongoing geopolitical situation. Russia's terrible war of aggression against Ukraine continued into its third year, and the recent attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas was followed by intense military operations and armed conflict. This is accompanied by ongoing uncertainty about future inflation rates worldwide and slow economic growth, particularly in industrialized countries. Our global economic and financial system, therefore, continues to face major challenges. In addition, this year may see political change because, ladies and gentlemen, roughly half the global population will be called to the polls. Elections are coming up, not only in the two most populous democracies in the world, but also a number of European countries and at EU level.
At our meetings, the Executive Board provided us with comprehensive and timely information, in accordance with the legal requirements. The high frequency of plenary and committee meetings and workshops ensured an intense exchange of information between the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board. The attendance rate for all Supervisory Board members at the meetings was very encouraging in 2023, it was 100%. The CEO kept me continuously and regularly informed concerning the current developments affecting the company's business, significant transactions, upcoming decisions, and the long-term outlook, and discussed these points with me.
As part of the regular training and professional development measures for the Supervisory Board, we focused on the Horizon 2026 strategy process, but also cybersecurity, the role of Deutsche Börse Group in strengthening the German and European capital markets, sustainability regulations, and the future world of work, concentrating on the labor markets for IT and financial services. Let me now move on to the priority areas of our activities in the plenary meetings of the Supervisory Board. In the reporting year, we discussed in detail the future strategic direction of Deutsche Börse Group. The Executive Board consulted the Supervisory Board at an early stage about the development of the new group strategy, Horizon 2026. It constituted the dominant theme of our work, as it defines the strategic framework for Deutsche Börse Group until 2026, and also includes an updated climate strategy.
We also advised the Executive Board on all relevant aspects of the strategy. Within this framework, we worked on the strategic expansion and reinforcement of our pre-trading business. Deutsche Börse AG acquired all shares in the Danish company SimCorp, having successfully completed a public takeover offer. A new segment, Investment Management Solutions, was created for the business of SimCorp, the Data & Analytics business of Axioma and ISS STOXX, to reflect the size and strategic importance of the pre-trading unit. The Supervisory Board accompanied the structural changes and the expansion of our business, and approved the necessary measures. Following extensive consultation, the Supervisory Board came to a decision regarding the CEO succession. In addition, we dealt with the future composition of the Supervisory Board. Representatives of shareholders and employees will be elected for a period of office of three years in 2024.
The election of the employee representatives was already held in April 2024. In the field of information technology, we discussed the partnership with a well-known global provider of cloud infrastructure and the main projects to develop the digital settlement platform, D7, and an exchange for digital assets. Artificial intelligence and other new technologies, as well as the opportunities they present for Deutsche Börse Group, were another key area of our work in this field. In view of their great importance for the group and the infrastructure services it provides to financial and capital markets, we again discussed the subjects of information security and cyber resilience in depth.
In the reporting year, we dealt with various legal matters again, such as the current status of litigation and legal proceedings involving Clearstream Banking SA in the U.S.A and Luxembourg, and the ongoing investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Cologne regarding the conception and settlement implementation of securities transactions by market participants over the dividend date, Cum -Ex. Market participants used such transactions to make unjustified tax refund claims. In this context, the supervisory board also dealt with investigations into such transactions by the stock exchange regulator in the German state of Saxony. Our work on the supervisory board also included other important litigation proceedings and the handling of findings by internal control functions, as well as external auditors and regulatory authorities. Let me now give you a short explanation of the audit of the annual and consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2023.
PricewaterhouseCoopers audited the annual financial statements of Deutsche Börse AG, the consolidated financial statements, and the combined management report for the financial year ended December 31, 2023, together with the accounting system, and issued an unqualified audit opinion. The condensed financial statements and the interim management report contained in the half-yearly financial report for the first six months of 2023 were reviewed by PwC. The documents relating to the financial statements and reports by PwC were submitted to us for inspection and examination in good time. Following the detailed discussion and examination of the financial statement documents and the reports, first by the audit committee and followed by the plenary meeting of the supervisory board, we approved the result of the audit by the auditor.
We approved the annual financial statements prepared by the executive board and the consolidated financial statements at our meeting on March 8, 2024, in line with the audit committee's recommendation. As a result, the annual financial statements of Deutsche Börse have been adopted. Deutsche Börse AG, that is. The audit committee discussed the executive board's proposal for the appropriation of the unappropriated surplus with the executive board. The discussion covered company liquidity, the financial planning, and shareholders' interests. Following this discussion and its own examination, the audit committee concurred with the executive board's proposal for the appropriation of the unappropriated surplus. After examining this ourselves, the plenary meeting of the supervisory board also approved the executive board's proposal.
I would like to thank the executive board and all staff for their extraordinary commitment and outstanding work in 2023, particularly remarkable in light of the challenging geopolitical and economic situation. For further information, I'd like to refer you to the written report of the supervisory board, which is part of the annual report 2023, where you will find more information on the corporate governance statement, the declaration of conformity regarding the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code, as well as the remuneration report on the remuneration awarded and due to the members of the executive board and supervisory board for financial year 2023. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to summarize my statements. Firstly, an important focus of our work on the supervisory board was the acquisition of the software company, SimCorp, by Deutsche Börse AG.
Second, by combining SimCorp and ISS STOXX under the newly created segment, Investment Management Solutions, Deutsche Börse completed an important step forward in the context of its Horizon 2026 strategy goal. Third, by appointing Stephan Leithner as CEO, with effect from the beginning of 2025, we have succeeded in establishing an anticipatory succession management and arrangement. I would like to hand over to our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Weimer.
Horizon 2026 shows us the way. We continue to deliver strong organic growth. We create strong growth opportunities and high synergy potential with our new segment, Investment Management Solutions. We are taking a leading role in the digitalization of asset classes. With Horizon 2026, we're shaping the markets of the future. We are Deutsche Börse.
Ladies and gentlemen, you heard it. We're growing organically. We shape the future. We, Deutsche Börse. A stock exchange, when people hear that, many people think of numbers, data, charts, filthy lucre. But we think differently of our business, our technology, our employees, their enthusiasm, our contribution to efficient and transparent markets, our future. We think of our shareholders, our share price, sustainable corporate value, our successes, for instance, the SimCorp acquisition. When people hear acquisition, they think of growth, perhaps also that a big fish is swallowing a smaller one. For some, this is the win-win, but then all of a sudden, there's the human factor. So let me tell you a story, and it's more than an anecdote.
It's a wonderful story about people, people who go all out for their company, people with individual backgrounds and different talents, people who contribute to Deutsche Börse's success every day, people for whom their company is more than a place of work, for whom Deutsche Börse is a family, a living community. Not just colleagues, but also lots of friends: international, innovative, ambitious, hardworking, a team with dreams, with the desire to shape something that stands the test of time. But listen for yourselves. Here's the story of Despina and Nikos. I'm very pleased that they are both with us today. Despina, Nikos, great having you here with us. Why don't you introduce yourself? What are you doing, and actually, how long have you been with us?
I'm Despina, originally coming from Kavala in Greece. I joined the group in January 2023, working for the IT strategy team in Frankfurt under the CIO.
My name is Nikos. I'm a SimCorp employee. I have been working for SimCorp for the last three years as a Senior Business Consultant. I also come originally from Greece, but I have been working and living in Amsterdam, in Netherlands, for quite some time now.
Wonderful. So I understand Amsterdam, Frankfurt. I understand SimCorp and Deutsche Börse. What is the story about? Why are you here?
It's not only the fact that we are two Deutsche Börse colleagues coming originally from Greece. Somebody might say this is not so unusual, but what is a bit more unique in this case is that we actually grew up in the same town, the one you can see there in the background.
Wow!
More specifically, we have been friends since high school, since we studied in the same school when we were younger. However, it's been a long time since then. We kind of lost each other, working and living in different countries. I don't even remember when was the last time we spoke to each other. Until one day, to my surprise, I saw my friend Despina in a video from Deutsche Börse addressed to SimCorp.
Indeed, I participated in a video where Deutsche Börse colleagues welcomed SimCorp in their own mother tongue. I did it in Greek, and shortly after the video was published, I get a message from Nikos. It was, to my big surprise, as we had not talked to each other for many years. We had lost contact, as Nikos said, and most importantly, this video was published internally. It was not on social media, so how do I connect the dots there? Then we talked. Nikos mentioned Amsterdam. He told me he's working for SimCorp, and that's how the mystery was solved, and that's how we reconnected.
Wonderful story. That's great, and that is especially for me, that is the special touch of Deutsche Börse, right? The humane and the human aspect of our daily work. It's so great having you with us, and it looks almost it smells like a love story somehow but I don't want to overplay this. Here now, Nikos and Despina, great having you with us. All the best for you for your future at Deutsche Börse. Thank you very much. All the best. [Foreign language] Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, shareholder representatives, seven is a special number. Some say it's magical. It's often regarded as a lucky number: the seven days of the week, in seventh heaven, and sometimes seven bridges to cross, to quote the title of a German pop song.
Yes, the number seven also has a special significance for me, for this is my seventh year as CEO of Deutsche Börse. It's also my last year for you and with you. So seven years at Deutsche Börse, time to say thank you to the owners of this special company, and especially to our employees, to all of you around the world, to customers worldwide, without whom we could not exist, to policymakers in Hesse and Berlin and also in Brussels. Yes, I'd also like to thank the regulators and the public, media representatives, the financial community, and all the friends of the stock exchange. Thanks to all those who care about this company, who are interested in us, and who believe in free and transparent markets. Time to say thank you for a busy, exciting time.
A time in which we wanted to set things in motion, and were allowed to do so. Thank you for your trust in our abilities and in our enthusiasm. And finally, time also to say thank you to the entire supervisory board of Deutsche Börse and its Chairman, Martin Jetter. Thank you for the kind remarks in your introductory statement. Thank you for the leap of faith, for the support in what have sometimes been difficult times with COVID, the war in Europe, and the trials and tribulations of the world. Thank you for many a challenging debate, and thanks also for the sometimes probing questions. Thank you for excellent checks and balances between the executive and supervisory boards. We've achieved a lot as a company, as a team. We've competed fiercely against the best in the world, and we believe we have no reason to hide.
We have acted strategically, worked well, haven't been afraid to make fundamental decisions, have acted as entrepreneurs. We didn't just want to manage, we wanted to win in our markets. Now, what has Deutsche Börse Group achieved in the past few years? Where did we stand in late 2017, almost seven years ago? Where are we today? We've succeeded in many things, but by no means in everything. You know, just in real life. But the results, the results are impressive. As I go through them, I'll compare the end of 2017 to the end of 2023. Our share price has performed very strongly, rising from EUR 97 to over EUR 187. In the same period, the DAX index rose by 30%. We were up by 90%.
Our net revenue doubled between late 2017 and late 2023, from EUR 2.5 to EUR 5.1 billion, and our pre-tax profit, EBITDA, also doubled from EUR 1.9 to EUR 2.9 billion, and earnings per share doubled as well. When I took the helm at Deutsche Börse, it had 5,600 employees. Today, more than 14,000 people work for the company. We've become a truly large company with global operations. We're almost the smallest of the big players in the DAX index, but we don't have to be embarrassed about our valuation on the stock market. In fact, we've made it into the top half of the DAX index with our market capitalization. Our employees also appreciate our success. The fact that over 80% of them recommend us as an employer makes me particularly happy.
My job as CEO was to embark on new paths, to give the team courage for the road ahead, to inspire them to believe in growth, profitable growth, that it can be done. Profitable growth is not a happy coincidence. On the contrary, it's inherent to the market economy. It's the privilege of the successful. I know occasionally difficult decisions had to be made, whose value did not become apparent until later. Now, in my final year, my main task is to pave the way for my successor and the constantly evolving management team, to encourage them to change things, to dare to try something new. My task in 2024 is not to entrench the way for others, but rather to open it. A modern strategy means creating room for options to stay agile without becoming arbitrary. The aim is to explore new paths without getting lost.
The direction is set regardless of people, ambitions, and sensitivities. Only one thing counts: the sustained success of Deutsche Börse. That's the true north of our strategy. It's all right for the compass needle to tremble sometimes. The direction is clear. We're all committed to achieving the best for Deutsche Börse. I'm convinced that Deutsche Börse's path will lead upwards. Walking it will certainly be tough but fulfilling. That is my message. But I don't want to become emotive. After all, we are here at the company's annual general meeting, and it's my honorable duty and pleasure to report on the 2023 financial year, as the law requires. So here you go. In 2023, we over-delivered once more on our targets. Our net revenue grew by 17%, taking us to a record level of EUR 5.1 billion.
We achieved 12% of those percentage points organically, that is to say, without acquisitions. This increase in revenue was due to 7% cyclical and 5% secular growth, respectively. This means there was a tailwind. Although last year, this was not due to high volatility, on the contrary, the year saw the lowest-ever fluctuations in the markets. The tailwind came from the rise in interest rates. Another 5% were added through successful acquisitions. All in all, ladies and gentlemen, after a record year in 2022, we delivered another really strong year. We've gone one better, as they say. Even more than the figures, we were pleased about two developments in particular. First, our new strategy has been really well received by our investors. The bar was set high. Our Roadmap 2020 and Compass 2023 strategies have laid the foundations.
Now, Horizon 2026 is showing us the way into the near future. We've received a lot of positive feedback on it. It has convinced people, and it is supported by you, our shareholders. May this still be the case in a couple of years from now. We, at any rate, are delighted, and it encourages us to continue. Second, last year we successfully acquired SimCorp. It was the biggest takeover in our company's history. Demanding, without doubt, but it will be a success. In fact, the first two quarters after the takeover were quite impressive. We were delighted when Germany's stock market daily, Börsen-Zeitung, honored us with the Corporate Finance Award in the digital category, but that's not making us overconfident. We have to deliver on revenue and on synergies. Our customers determine our success. But I'm confident as I stand here before you.
In addition to the sheer growth in revenue, it's the proportion of recurring income that makes us proud, as this is what makes us resilient. It now accounts for over 60%. What this means is that at the start of the new financial year, 2024, ladies and gentlemen, we already had over 60% of our revenue in the bag. Let me tell you, that's a very good feeling. How have our costs developed? Well, the SimCorp acquisition has resulted in a 16% cost increase overall, but in purely organic terms, that is to say, excluding the SimCorp acquisition, our costs have only risen by 5%. To put that into perspective, it's 5% organic cost growth, but 12% organic revenue growth, as mentioned earlier. This shows that our business is scalable and that costs are increasing at a slower rate than revenue.
The impact on profits is quite impressive, with our 2023 pre-tax profit, EBITDA, rising significantly by 17% to EUR 2.9 billion. Our consolidated net income amounted to EUR 1.7 billion, an increase of 15%. Let me take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks for the year 2023 to our employees around the world for their commitment, for the enthusiasm they show in their jobs, for being ready to perform day in, day out, and for working so independently and being intrinsically motivated. That's fantastic to see. Thank you very much, also on behalf of the entire executive board.
Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, we've decided to share a substantial part of our financial success with you and are proposing a dividend of EUR 3.8 per share for 2023, 6% more than last year, with us distributing 40% of net income to our shareholders. Our aim is to increase the dividend per share every year. In addition, we've completed a share buyback program amounting to EUR 300 million. This means that together with the dividend, we are returning a total of EUR 1 billion to our shareholders. So far, 2024 has also been going very well, with net revenue increasing by 16% to EUR 1.4 billion in the first quarter. EBITDA was up 13% to EUR 0.9 billion. We have therefore, once again, exceeded analysts' expectations.
This has again got us off to a good start this year. Let's look ahead with confidence rather than exaggerated pride. I've already referred to our new Horizon 2026 strategy several times today. Let me again summarize the core elements of this strategy so that all our shareholders know where we're heading. What are the pillars? Pillar number one: our new strategic focus. We've decided to focus more on the buy side, on the big investors, where growth will be higher in the future. To this end, we've created a new growth segment, IMS, Investment Management Solutions, to use the potential of asset management. With this in mind, we acquired SimCorp and teamed it up with our Axioma business. Furthermore, we combined ISS with our subsidiary STOXX, a large provider of ESG data, combined with a leading index provider.
Both new companies are global powerhouses for Investment Management Solutions. Pillar number two of our strategy: organic growth takes precedence over acquisitions. As you can see, we're pursuing a growth-oriented strategy. Its most important core pillar is organic growth and a maximum of recurring revenue. Organic growth is supplemented by targeted acquisitions, which must be financially viable and a strategic fit for us. We want to grow by a total of around 10% a year. Organically, we're growing really well in many of our businesses. Let me highlight a few of them. Eurex, one of the few leading global derivatives exchanges, is a billion-euro business in its own right, a platform that performs at its best when markets fluctuate. Its contribution to minimizing risk in the markets cannot be overstated. Our subsidiary, EEX, operates marketplaces for power and gas worldwide. It has become the hidden champion in our portfolio.
It's simply the largest power exchange in the world, the envy of many. Then there's 360T, our small but mighty foreign exchange platform. Small, ladies and gentlemen, is perhaps a bit of an understatement. After all, its trading volume is around $130 billion per day. We now execute around 800 million transactions across all trading activities, day after day. That's more than 10,000 transactions per second. Clearstream Securities Services, our settlement business, has performed remarkably well, thanks to the rise in interest rates. Years ago, some people advised me to sell Clearstream. We said, "No," and it was the right thing to do. In total, we generated around EUR 700 million in net interest income at Clearstream in 2023. By the way, we have custody of assets totaling around EUR 14.9 trillion.
Now, just to put that into perspective, that's more than three times Germany's GDP. Our Clearstream Fund Services businesses also deliver consistently high income. Incidentally, we have another EUR 3.6 trillion in fund assets under management there. The only business that's not growing for us is our cash equity market. Xetra may have a market share of over 6%, but we're suffering from the structural weakness of the German and European capital markets. These markets are too fragmented, too regulated. There are fewer and fewer listed companies, and too few IPOs. There are no investment incentives to them. What's even worse, the German capital market is falling further and further behind. The activities of national investors and financial intermediaries are underdeveloped. There's only one asset manager left among the world's top ten, and not a single German bank.
Often, there are simply not enough investors. The competitive disadvantage compared to the U.S. market has become huge, and we're not talking about Germany alone. We're talking about the whole of Europe. Now, let me stop here before I get carried away and come back to our company, Deutsche Börse. Our high organic growth doesn't come for free. It doesn't drop from the sky. It requires effort. We have to spend money to achieve this year after year. My rule of thumb is, every year, we invest to increase our cost base by around 5% in order to grow our business organically by around 7%. In my view, that's a healthy ratio. Pillar three of our strategy: growth must go hand in hand with high profitability. No growth without scalability. Profits have to grow faster than revenue. Profit isn't everything, but without profit, well, there's nothing.
It's a common saying, I know, but also a true one, an important one, and we won't lose sight of this. Pillar four: setting the technological course. The last few decades have been decades of global growth. In recent years and in the decades to come, the world's growth will be determined by technology, and this will also apply to Deutsche Börse, and that's why we invest so much. We've made very large investments in cybersecurity because we operate a critical infrastructure. We've entered into a strategic partnership with Google Cloud. We now have around half of our computing power in the cloud, and rapidly rising. We continued to invest in digital assets, even during the crypto winter. We promote regulated business with institutional investors. We've obtained licenses and scaled our D7 post-trading platform together with partners. We're preparing for tokenization through business models and technological systems.
We're investing in digital ecosystems. We're building a platform for digital assets. We're creating a data network and investing in our data architecture to further commercialize data. We have many AI use cases on the way and are monitoring developments carefully. We have many questions, and truth be told, we do not have an answer to each and every one of them, but we'll keep at it. Pillar five? Implementation, I call that the underestimated factor, because it sounds simple, but it's by no means a matter of course. What you need is a focused management team that works hard and pulls in the same direction without resting on its laurels. It takes the effort of always wanting to do better, day after day. Some people have great ideas, many are talented, and almost all of them are full of good advice.
But what really counts is getting it right as a company, with a compelling strategy and rigorous execution. My mantra has been for years: If you have a good strategy but no implementation skills, you have no strategy at all. Strategy and implementation really go hand in hand. In addition to these main pillars of our strategy, we've changed our capital management. At the start of my term of office, seven years ago, we distributed around 60% of our consolidated profit. Since then, we've increased the dividend every year, although the payout ratio has fallen due to some good results. It now stands at around 40%, and over the next few years it'll probably be lower than that, between 30% and 40%. But you, our shareholders, are not going to miss out. On the contrary, we aim for dividend continuity with increasing dividends per share.
In addition, we've announced as part of our Horizon 2026 strategy, that if we have excess liquidity, which should not be the exception given how our business is going, we plan to supplement the dividend distributions with share buyback programs. This is another clear message to you: Our number one priority is organic growth, and the bar for acquisitions is high. My conclusion on the strategy is as follows: We're leading Deutsche Börse to new horizons, and hopefully beyond. You may know the song by Udo Lindenberg, which translates as, "Beyond the horizon, the journey continues." There's no better basis for many more successful years, and by that I mean years of continuing high growth with high profitability, for the benefit of our customers and for the benefit of you, our shareholders. Going forward, that'll be your job, Stephan Leithner.
You've been my deputy for a few weeks now. From next year, you'll be the Captain of this beautiful ship in both calm and rough seas. I've known and thought highly of you for years, and I know you've got this. Next year, you'll have the privilege of standing here and accounting for actions, and you'll do a good job, I'm sure of that. You're going to take on one of the most rewarding jobs the German economy has to offer. That's something to look forward to. Congratulations again on your appointment. Shareholders, I'd like to thank you, also on behalf of the Executive Board, for your loyalty to our company. It's about giving and taking. You give us the money by buying our shares. You trust us that we'll turn it into something good and pay you a risk-adequate return on your investment.
It has worked so far, I think, and I trust this will continue to be the case. The loyalty of our valued shareholders is part of our success, and for that, I want to express my heartfelt thanks. Thank you for your attention.
Thank you very much for this report, Theodor. The final version of Dr. Weimer's speech will be available on the company's website after today's AGM. Drafts of the speeches delivered by Dr. Weimer and myself had already been made available online in the run-up to this AGM. The latest update to the record of attendance is now available, and this record shows the shares represented by the two company-appointed proxies. In addition, this record lists all virtually participating shareholders and shareholder representatives, as required by law. Specifically, this group includes all those who have electronically joined this AGM by logging on to our online service at the relevant point in time. Any proxies and instructions given by these persons to the two company-appointed proxies will be shown in the record of attendance.
At this point, the attendance count is as follows: Ladies and gentlemen, of the company's share capital, which amounts to EUR 190 million and is divided into 190 million par value shares, 140,100,866 shares are represented at this AGM, and this translates into 73.74% of the company's share capital. In addition, we received another 738,746 postal votes.
[Foreign language]
We are keeping a copy of the record of attendance in this room, and it is available for inspection through our online service. The same also goes for any updates. Ladies and gentlemen, you have already received detailed information on today's agenda, in particular, as part of the notice of meeting. Nevertheless, allow me to make some brief remarks on certain agenda items, and after that, we'll move on to the general debate. Concerning agenda item two, I'd like to point out that the board's proposal on the appropriation of unappropriated surplus needs to be amended to reflect the change in the number of shares carrying dividend rights.
As announced in the notice of meeting, the proposal on the appropriation of unappropriated surplus, published in the Federal Gazette, will be put to the vote in an amended version later today, and this amended version will reflect the current number of shares carrying dividend rights, but still provides for a EUR 3.80 dividend per share. The amended proposal is also available on our website and reads as follows: The executive board and the supervisory board propose that the unappropriated surplus reported in the adopted annual financial statements as at 31st December 2023, totaling EUR 1.06 billion, be appropriated as follows: To pay a dividend of EUR 3.80 for each no-par value share carrying dividend rights, which means a total of EUR 697,765,777.40.
To allocate an amount of EUR 362,234,222.60 to other retained earnings. As a result, when you're going to cast your votes later on, you're going to vote on this amended proposal, not the proposal originally published in the Federal Gazette. Our notary is going to record this in the minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, as announced earlier, we'll now be hearing from Ms. Kozmiensky, who is standing as a member of the supervisory board under agenda item eight. Ms. Kozmiensky, you have the floor.
Shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to introduce myself to you with a few personal words. My name is Sigrid Kozmiensky.
After a degree in business studies from Nuremberg, I've had the opportunity to get to know the national and international financial sectors from various perspectives during the last 22 years. I started my career in 2002 at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where my responsibility was leading and managing annual audits, special audits, and audit-related consulting projects in the banking sector. In 2006, I moved on to ING-DiBa AG, where I held a number of management positions in the bank's risk management unit. Then, in 2014, I decided to take up a position at the European Central Bank to help build the new single regulatory framework for banking supervision in Europe. As Head of Section and Joint Supervisory Team Coordinator, I was responsible for the supervision of globally systemically important banks.
In 2019, I returned to ING Germany as general manager and was appointed to the executive board as Chief Risk Officer in 2020. My executive board responsibilities at ING, one of the leading digital banks, until the end of March of this year, included risk management, compliance and regulatory affairs, and risk analytics and data management. In that capacity, I was also a member of the global group CRO management team, and as such, involved in all aspects of risk strategy and risk management of a global financial institution. Through my work, I'm also well-acquainted with the areas of finance and accounting, financial controlling, and reporting. Moreover, I have been a member of the supervisory board of Bayerische Börse AG for the past three years.
I resigned from this supervisory board at the end of March to stand as a member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG today. From the middle of this year, I will accept a new executive board position. The supervisory board of Bayerische Landesbank has appointed me to the group executive board of BayernLB as Chief Risk Officer, with effect from July 1, 2024. Through my various activities in auditing and banking supervision on bank executive boards and the supervisory board of an exchange organization, I have gathered extensive knowledge of the banking and exchange sectors, and I would call it a 360-degree perspective. Ladies and gentlemen, I would be delighted to contribute my experience and expertise to the supervisory board of Deutsche Börse AG.
It would be an honor and a highly appreciated challenge for me to support your company on its way to the future. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Ms. Kozmiensky, for introducing yourself to our shareholders. The other candidates proposed for election are already members of the Supervisory Board. We will therefore not introduce them one by one, but rather refer to the detailed information, and especially their CVs, available on our website. I now proceed with the agenda. I just made some additional remarks on certain agenda items. You've received the full wording of all agenda items, so I'm not going to comment on each and every one of them. Ladies and gentlemen, I now open the debate on the items before the meeting. May I ask shareholders and shareholder representatives to lodge their requests to speak, unless, of course, you've already done so?
To do so, please select the button, Request to Speak, in the online service. As mentioned earlier, please use the online service to check whether your camera and microphone are actually working. To ensure an orderly and focused debate, I'm going to call blocks of speakers and ask them to enter our virtual waiting room. Please wait for the pop-up window asking you to enter the virtual waiting room. To enter that waiting room, please click and confirm the pop-up window. After you've entered the virtual waiting room, our IT technician is going to check your video and audio quality, and once this check is performed, I'm going to call you when it is your turn to speak. Once I've given you the floor, the AGM will be able to see and hear you live, and you can address attendees, ask questions, or table motions.
There will be no limit on your right to speak and ask questions as such, but as a matter of courtesy, I would ask you to not make undue use of your allotted time. I'd appreciate it if the time per speaker were no more than approximately 10 minutes. Thank you. Mind you, this is no formal limitation of your right to speak and ask questions. It's just a non-binding request. Having said that, I do reserve the right to set an appropriate timeframe, either for the AGM as a whole or for individual contributions from speakers, should I deem this necessary. After all, we do want to conclude the business of this meeting within an acceptable timeframe, even if there are numerous requests to speak. For technical reasons, there might be delays in the live stream.
To ensure, however, that live speakers do not miss any parts of the stream, we are therefore going to suspend the meeting for about six minutes at certain points. This will also give speakers time to get ready for their live contributions. Once a block of speakers has had the floor, and when all speakers have had their say at the latest, the company is going to answer the questions addressed to it. Once all eligible contributions have been heard and all questions have been answered, I shall close the debate and move on to the vote on the items before the meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, I have already received requests for the floor. Our first speaker is Andreas Lang of DSW. After him, Marcus Kienle of the German SDK. The shareholders or shareholder representatives I have called will now be asked to enter the virtual waiting room.
To do that, please click and confirm the pop-up window. I would also like to call Mr. Hendrik Schmidt of DWS Investment, Andreas Thomae of Deka Investment, Mr. Luca Schiewe of the Association of Critical Shareholders, Reinhard Fedor Walter-Marcius, and last but not least, Mr. Gerd- Ulrich Tausendf reund. As I said, the shareholders have prepared their contributions, and I would like to ask you to click and confirm the pop-up window now to enter the virtual waiting room. Again, please confirm the pop-up windows by mouse click. Ladies and gentlemen, I am now going to suspend this meeting for about six minutes, so we're going to resume the meeting at 11:21.
[Foreign language] Ladies and Gentlemen, I call the meeting to order and give the floor to Andreas Lang of DSW. You have the floor. And after him-
The next on the list of speakers is Marcus Kienle of the German SDK. But first speaker, please, Andreas Lang, the floor is yours.
Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Andreas Lang. I'm a lawyer at Frankfurt am Main, and I address this AGM as the Chairman of the DSW in the state of Hesse. Ladies and gentlemen, at an AGM, shareholders have democratic rights, such as the right to vote and the opportunity to co-decide certain matters of the company's management. The AGM is an important institution in German stock corporation law, abiding by democratic principles. Especially at our current day and age, I believe it to be absolutely misplaced to take such democratic principles and structures and handle them via the internet only.
The decision to also opt for such a virtual AGM for this year is something with which also Deutsche Börse AG, I believe, is paying a bad service to democracy. Regardless of that, the virtual AGM also expresses a low degree of appreciation for one's own shareholders. Quite apparently, Deutsche Börse AG doesn't deem it necessary to allow their shareholders at least once a year to meet personally. Shareholders scattered around the world, ladies and gentlemen, and especially Mr. Chairman, you could always allow to participate in a hybrid format. In your introduction to the AGM, you've explained that your decision to have this as a virtual AGM again was something that was decided, taking into account the interests of the company and its shareholders. Now, such a purely virtual AGM is certainly not in the interest of shareholders.
DSW would expect an AGM to be conducted in at least a hybrid format, which is the express wish of all shareholders, and also the attendance that you announced earlier, Chairman, seems to prove that fact. What remains is the question of costs, but with such a record result as for the financial year 2023, and then stating the lower cost factor as a reason for holding a virtual AGM, as Deutsche Börse AG does, is one thing only, and that is a cheap way out. I would like to know whether you intend to stick to the virtual format and whether you ever asked your shareholders' opinion on this, and if so, in which format and with which kind of result? Since we're talking virtual format, I'd like to know in which format you establish the attendance, virtually or hybrid.
I also wonder how your investor meetings with institutional investors took place last year, and could you please provide the percentages as to what was virtual or hybrid? Ladies and gentlemen, the 2023 financial year was a successful year indeed. Deutsche Börse AG booked net revenues and operating profits with an increase of 17%, and that development is all the more remarkable since our company managed to achieve it at a time where around the world and in the world economy, some things are rather off kilter. The after effects of the Covid pandemic, war in Ukraine, China-Taiwan conflict, the attack on Israel past October, and the current situation in Gaza, unsecure and uncertain transport routes, inflation first, and then increase in interest rates afterwards.
All of that taken together led to a decrease in trading, which, however, did not mean a decrease in revenue and profits for our company, which is to be recognized and appreciated. You, dear Dr. Weimer, have managed our company well. One example of that is the SimCorp deal, which amongst others, contributed five percentage points to the operating profit. Now, being pleased about the past financial years is one thing, but we also have to take into account that in the past year, Deutsche Börse had quite some tailwind, given the federal bank's policy, which also is reflected in the overall net revenues and at 7% of the growth, are due to such cyclical influence. 5% of structural growth originate from our own activities.
Now, the turnaround of interest rates to be expected in the capital markets, what impact is it going to have on your forecast for 2025? Do you share the market's expectation of a decrease in interest rates to be expected soon, and how do you prepare for it? On the other hand, our costs on a purely organic basis have also increased by 5%. So in total, it would have to be stated that costs only grow disproportionately to revenue because the interest rates were increased, given the Federal Bank's monetary policy.
Please share with us the cost-income ratio that you expect for the current financial year.
As part of the agenda, we are going to decide on a dividend payment, which goes from EUR 3.60 to EUR 3.80, which is an increase by 6%-8%, which represents 40% of the profit booked. In a five-year comparison, if you look at the payout ratio per share, it constitutes the highest dividend paid. In your annual report, you are portraying that in rather great detail. It is also part of the truth, though, that it is actually the lowest dividend payout ratio over the last five years. For example, in the 2019 financial year, we had a 53% payout ratio, and in 2021 it was 51%.
In other words, Deutsche Börse AG has their shareholders participate less and less in the company's profits and the company's success. We can read in the annual report that a dividend payout ratio of 30% to 40% is what's aimed at now. According to a report in the German Börsen-Zeitung, the target so far was 40% to 60% generally. Please explain why apparently you've corrected your dividend policy downwards. Why now plan with a corridor of, or a range of 30% 40%? We also read in your annual report that within that range, the actual payout ratio is going to be decided depending on the current business development, and also take into account continuity aspects. What do you mean by continuity? Please elaborate on that, so that in the future we can understand your dividend policy and assess it accordingly.
DSW generally expects a dividend payout ratio of 50% of the group profit for the year. A limitation to 40% right from the outset is something we believe to be wrong, and it doesn't make any difference that you announce additional payouts in the form of buyback programs. A share buyback program at the expense of dividend continuity, or actually to the detriment of an increase in dividend payout, is something that DSW sees rather critically. Ladies and gentlemen, worldwide there are more and more attacks on the IT systems of companies in the financial and infrastructure industries. The federal authority on this field thinks the threat is higher than ever.
The safety of computing and data centers, however, is of key relevance, so please explain if and how often you were the target of cyberattacks in the past financial year, and if so, at what stage you were able to fight off those attacks? You also write in your annual report that the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority is regularly reviewing Deutsche Börse as a financial holding, and being classified as a holdings would also have an impact, possibly on the equity requirements. Could you please give some figures regarding this matter? In your annual report, you also cover the climate targets of the company and explain that the Science Based Targets Initiative is going to validate, or was to validate, these targets in the first quarter of 2024. What's the result of that validation, and can you please report on it?
Ladies and gentlemen, it was already mentioned: this year's AGM is the last one with our CEO, Dr. Weimer, who will hand over at the end of this year after a seven-year term of office. Dear Dr. Weimer, you have led Deutsche Börse AG out of and also through a time of deep uncertainty, both within the society and also geopolitically speaking. You've done and managed it, not just in a safe manner, but very successfully indeed. With the acquisition of SimCorp, which is the largest one in the corporate history, you've succeeded in achieving something that quite a few of your predecessors failed in achieving in the past. For that, I would like to pay you my respect and express my gratitude and appreciation, and I would also mention your very outgoing personality and friendly nature that I'd like to mention.
If we'd met in person today, I'm very convinced that this would have called for a loud round of applause of all shareholders present. It is a shame, Dr. Weimer, that we and you will not be able to enjoy this. Now, from here and onwards, Dr. Stephan Leithner is going to take over. For that, Dr. Leithner, I wish you all the best of success. If FAZ's report of eleventh May of this year is correct, then allegedly one of the share capital or shareholder representatives in the supervisory board apparently did not vote in favor regarding your appointment, which would be rather unusual. So please don't be offended or confused by that. Now, I would like to end, but not without expressing our gratitude to you and all attendees. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Lang, for your remarks. We took note of your remarks and will answer the points once we've gone through the requests to speak. Let me now call Mr. Marcus Kienle, SDK, from the Association for the Protection of Investors, followed by Dr. Hendrik Schmidt, DWS Investment. But first, Mr. Kienle.
Mr. Jetter, Dr. Weimer, ladies and gentlemen from the management team, shareholders, my name is Marcus Kienle. I'm an attorney in Frankfurt and a member of the board of the SDK.
Dr. Weimer, for the past fiscal year, you delivered strong performance, exceeding, outperforming your guidance. Net revenue increased across segments, EBITDA, and 17.84% as an equity ratio. With your management team, you did more. Not only revenue and profits were improved in quantitative terms, but their quality as well, because 63% is the increase to which the annual recurring revenue increased. You developed the company overcoming, or rather, using the silo structure to strengthen the company's footprint. All employees at Deutsche Börse deserve our praise and gratitude, and I'd like to ask you to convey this. Despite the past year's success, SDK's board will not ratify the acts of management. The reason is only in selecting or opting for the virtual format of the AGM.
The virtual AGM format is something we only see warranted in a crisis situation, falling back to virtual as the only possible format. We cannot understand your decision. More and more DAX-listed companies return to face-to-face, to in-person AGMs, and there's also a general trend towards face-to-face or hybrid. This decision of not ratifying the acts of management is only aiming at this format, but we think that in 2024, this is so serious that we can't approve the management at all. This has nothing to do with the strategic operational work of the executive board. The numbers: the recurring revenue share, what's your plan for 2024 to 2026 in terms of their share? Annually, that is.
Your dividend policy, a corridor of 30%- 40%, as the previous speakers said, which is at the lower end of the range that SDK called for, which is 40%- 60% of the group net income. Why don't you think it's appropriate to reward shareholders sharing half of the group profits? You're pointing out that Deutsche AG can also use share buybacks to return money to the shareholders, but this is also related to a loss of rights as well, so it's not equivalent to a higher dividend. How do you want to use the shares bought? The Compass 2023 strategy were achieved before time. Compass 2023 goals, did you achieve the goals for IT as well, or are there underachieved goals?
The new strategy now, Horizon 2026, average income growth, revenue growth of 10% and EBITDA of 20 in 2024 to of more than $2 billion. How far-reaching does your strategy reach ahead, and what are your goals for the new strategy? Were they based on the previous strategy? Are they before or after currency translation? You acquired SimCorp last year. What does SimCorp do? How does it earn its money? What's the after-tax income that SimCorp would have generated after financing cost? Artificial intelligence is relevant for all companies. Where are you using AI? What's the revenue or cost effect that you're generating with AI right now? The new segment, IMS, bundling and streamlining the activities to reap synergies. How high are the synergies that you expect? Are they revenue or cost, and what's the percentage for each?
By when do you expect to have generated those synergies? The data business focuses on trust in managing data. What are the criteria that you're using to prove that you are trustworthy? Under organic growth, strategic and other organic growth is differentiated. What's the difference between the two types? Fund services has also delivered. Deutsche Börse's offering is based on scalability as a competitive edge compared to individual asset management activities or asset managers. What's the target group of the fund services segment? What's the critical mass that the fund, the segment will need to be profitable? What's your position when it comes to target group? In your speech, Dr. Weimer, you said that the cash equity business was weak because of competitive disadvantages with respect to the American market.
Where do you see the strategic disadvantages or competitive policy disadvantages when it comes to the German regulatory framework compared to the U.S. market that you're using as a reference? For example, voting shares or exclusion of voting rights, the 20% increase there. Is that the reason? Dr. Weimer, you will leave the executive board at year-end. At this year's AGM, we cannot bid you farewell, and at the next AGM it would be too late, so I'd opt for an early farewell, and I would have loved to bid you farewell in person, but you haven't allowed us to do so. We thank you for all your work for the benefit of Deutsche Börse.
The existing volatility-driven revenue you strengthened, but you opened up new revenue sources, less dependent on volatility, which means a new sound footing for the revenue of our company, and the 2024 numbers look promising. After leaving the executive board, we wish you all the best for your further career. Dr. Leithner was appointed the successor. From October, he'll be Co-CEO with you. How many candidates did you screen as potential successors? Were they outside of Deutsche Börse as well? How many were shortlisted, and how many from outside? What were the key points making you choose Dr. Leithner? Dr. Weimer, again, all the best to you and your team for the current fiscal year, and may all your measures and plans work out. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Kienle, for your remarks, for your questions, that we will answer in detail.
Let me now call Mr. Hendrik Schmidt from DWS Investment, followed by Andreas Thomae from Deka Investment . Mr. Schmidt, you have the floor.
Thank you very much. Mr. Jetter, Dr. Weimer, ladies and gentlemen, members of the supervisory board and executive board, shareholders. My name is Hendrik Schmidt, and I represent DWS Investment GmbH, among others, one of the largest fund managers in Germany. We are holding a number of Deutsche Börse shares. We are a long-term-oriented, responsible investor and trustee, so the direct exchange with you, the management of the company and both boards, is something that is very important. On behalf of DWS, let me thank the members of both boards and all the employees at Deutsche Börse. Thank you for your active commitment, work, and achievements in the past fiscal year, and I'd like to ask the executive board to convey our gratitude.
In 2023, Deutsche Börse Group generated an all-time high when it comes to revenue and profit, completing another successful year. More than 17% higher profits, 5% is secular growth, but 7% is based on cyclical growth, and again, 5% of inorganic growth. The interest rate development is one driver and the acquisition of SimCorp, the other. Following these reinforcing trends, the current year, 2024, is a year where it remains to be seen where the growth will level out. Today's dividend proposal, EUR 3.80, exceeds the dividend of the previous year by EUR 0.20 . It's a payout ratio of 40%. However, during the past four years, it used to be 50% at the time, and has gone down to the current 40%, and the corridor mentioned now is 30% to 40%, has been determined accordingly.
At 40%, this year's dividend is at the higher end of this range. As for the stock price, it developed in line with the fundamental data, about 15% higher. The announcement of the SimCorp transaction is something that not all market participants saw as positive, and it was reflected in the share price. But even those critical have now been convinced, I guess, that it was the right decision. After the Compass 2023 strategy, this is now followed by the Horizon 2026 strategy, focusing on organic growth, strengthening IMS, and the ambition to play a leading role in the digitalization of assets. We wish the executive board and the company every success in this endeavor. For Deutsche Börse as a market infrastructure operator, corporate governance is key.
Anything to do with corporate governance and good, sound management, and this is reflected in the well-established, well-rehearsed dialogue with the supervisory board chairman on this. And this is a dialogue that we'll be very happy to pursue and continue in the future, Mr. Jetter. Transparency is an important cornerstone of corporate governance, and we can confirm that Deutsche Börse makes all necessary information available. However, when it comes to the committee composition, the number is obsolete, and I guess you will update the membership in the committees on your website after today. Four weeks, four working days rather, is the timeline for submitting preparatory documents before meetings, which makes it quite ambitious when it comes to the timing and preparation. What's the average preparation time that the members of the supervisory board had in preparing based on documents?
In Article 6-3 of the articles of incorporation, Deutsche Börse has a set of rules of procedure for the executive board. So my question is... Sorry, the supervisory board, but it only exists for, or is published for the supervisory board. So when will you publish the rules for the executive board? On the 8th of March, you announced that Dr. Stephan Leithner is going to follow after Dr. Weimer at year-end, and this decision is a signal of continuity and reliability. The capital market didn't see it as a surprise. We welcome this decision as well. The early communication is something we appreciate, in particular. From October, Dr. Leithner is to become Co-CEO with Dr. Weimer, and after the end of December, the sole CEO. Could you flesh this out a little when it comes to the transition and the future breakdown of executive board remits?
Now, for Cum-Ex, the Handelsblatt on the 26th of June 2023 said that the prosecutor in Cologne expanded the group investigated under the Cum-Ex issue when it comes to trading and clearing. Dr. Thomas Book was included. The Ministry of the Economy has asked a consultant law firm to produce a legal opinion, which said essentially that Deutsche Börse had sufficient indications as to the trading strategies used for Cum-Ex purposes. Dr. Book had to be informed about this, and measures to stop these transactions weren't taken. How did the Supervisory Board deal with this legal opinion? What's the new conclusions, the new information from this that became known to the Supervisory Board? On page 210 of the annual report in German, it is said that there's no liability.
Could you comment on that? At the end of today's AGM, all Supervisory Board members will see the end of this term of office. With the exception of Mr. Rüdiger, everybody will remain. Sigrid Kozmiensky is the proposed new candidate. Thank you for introducing yourself. Mr. Rüdiger, thank you for all your work, and all the best for your future career. Looking at Barbara Lambert, since September last year, she's been Chair of the Audit Committee of Merck AG in Darmstadt. At Deutsche Börse, she has this mandate and also Implenia in Switzerland is a company where she holds a seat, and also the supervisory boards of the Swiss national companies of UBS and Credit Suisse. Until March 2024, she was a member of the board of Synlab.
When it comes to a supervisory board or generally a board, the work has become much more demanding when it comes to information to be digested and responsibility, and it requires a lot of capacity. That is why we see this as a dual seat. Counting all the seats that she holds, Ms. Lambert, when you look at Merck and all the German companies alone, you have six. When you include the Swiss UBS, we have eight seats in total when you look at the committee as well. Looking at the technical expertise and the independence, we, the trustees of our investors' money, believe that the mental capacity and capability and time is an essential requirement, whether it's boards or audit committees. There's an objective criterion, which is five seats, non-executive seats with no executive responsibilities.
Barbara Lambert is clearly beyond that limit, which is why we cannot approve her election today, and we expect that during the next twelve months, she clearly reduces the number of board and committee seats. A redrafted remuneration system will also be presented. We are looking forward to that dialogue. When it comes to the peer group, our recommendation is to work on it and review it. The STOXX Europe 600 Financials used as a benchmark is not appropriate, in our view, to reflect the business model and success of Deutsche Börse. The ISS and SimCorp takeovers mean that the business model at Deutsche Börse has developed clearly over the past few years, and that has to be reflected when it comes to the competitive peer group. Could you please name the ten most important companies that Deutsche Börse measures itself against, competes with?
That is, whether the stocks, financials index includes them. When it comes to voting, we approve everything, with the exception of the election of Ms. Lambert. Dr. Werner, allow me a personal remark as well? I'm also in a quandary. Now, it's too early to bid you farewell. Next year, it will be too late, but I still hope that we'll be able to see you somehow during the AGM, that we can give you a final farewell and express our conclusive and concluding gratitude to you. We wish both boards every success in the upcoming decisions for this year. Dr. Leithner, all the best to you during the fourth quarter. We wish you a good start in your new capacity, and for us shareholders, a positive share price development. Thank you very much for answering my questions, and thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Mr. Schmidt, for your remarks and questions. We're going to come back to them in the course of this meeting. Our next speaker is Andreas Thomae of Deka Investment, and after that, I'm going to call Mr. Luca Schiewe from the Association of Ethical Shareholders. But first of all, Mr. Thomae, you have the floor.
Thank you, Mr. Jetter. Ladies and gentlemen, members of the supervisory and executive boards, shareholders, my name is Andreas Thome. I represent Deka Investment, one of the largest fund associations in Germany, and a subsidiary of Deka Bank which belongs to the Sparkassen organization. Ladies and gentlemen, we, as shareholders, are very happy with Deutsche Börse's performance. Last year, however, Deutsche Börse couldn't keep up with the general development because of its business model. But that's okay, we agree with that. Organically, revenue rose by 12%. Cyclical revenue, due to the change in the interest rates, were an important factor here, but secular growth was also 5%, and we hope that this trend is going to continue. You acquired SimCorp, the largest acquisition in the company's history, and that is a good basis for further growth.
Q1 was also good in operating terms, so the company got off to a good start. We, as shareholders, we look forward to a dividend of 3.80% and the share buyback program of $300 million. Your new strategy is called Horizon 2026. The goal is to grow 10% annually, 3% of which through acquisitions, with 11% EBITDA and EPS growth per year, mostly based on secular growth. Interest income should not rise further because we've reached the peak of interest rates. You have a lot on your plate, Dr. Wimmer. That's an ambitious program, and therefore, here are my questions: Those secular trends, are they strong enough to actually achieve 7% growth per year? Over the next few years, are you planning to make any other acquisitions? What about the guidance of interest rates?
Has it changed after the Investors Day? What do you think NII is going to be for this year? Secular recurring income between now and 2026, how high are they going to be? You changed your dividend policy. The payout ratio is down to between 30% and 40% to reflect Deutsche Börse's growth trajectory. To us, this makes sense because a valuable growth company is more useful than a lame duck.
Ladies and gentlemen, the year 2023 was marked by the SimCorp integration, acquisition and integration. Thanks to this acquisition, you can offer Investment Management Solutions front to back, and you can benefit from the outsourcing trend of the buy side. Now, originally, for us shareholders and other players on the capital market, that acquisition was difficult to understand, as can be seen from the international reactions on the market.
But, you know, sometimes things just take time, and we've developed a good understanding of the rationale. You created Investment Management Solutions, a new segment with data software and analytics business, inclu ding ISS's sustainability business. There, you want to raise synergies. Dr. Leithner, what we would like to know is the planned synergies of $90 million, is that the lower end of the range? Is most of that based on cost synergies, and what about revenue synergies? How satisfied are you with the integration of SimCorp so far? What is the impact on the subscription model software as a service? What does it mean for revenue? How many of your customers have already switched to that new model? The EBITDA margin of SimCorp and of the IMS segment is lower than that of the group as a whole.
To what extent are you planning to increase that margin over the next few years? What is the target yield for SimCorp in the long term? Competition is tough, and SimCorp does have some global competitors, especially in the United States. Currently, you have an 8% market share there. What do you think? What is your competitive situation there? How strong, how much do you want to grow in the U.S.? Do you need to do further acquisitions to strengthen your position in the U.S.? To what extent can you improve your gearing ratio? What role is General Atlantic play in the future as a minority shareholder of ISS STOXX? Ladies and gentlemen, the secular trends, like on-exchange trading, the use of high-quality data, the outsourcing trend on the buy side, those are up and running. But still, there are fluctuations.
In 2023, for instance, fund services, excluding NII, hardly grew. Why was that? What are the prospects for the future? Are you planning to make further acquisitions, for instance, in distribution or in terms of products? Dr. Book, off-exchange interest products did quite well. What is your market share in euro OTC clearing? You launched a short-term interest future. What's the development there? In terms of EEX, power and gas, we saw strong growth. Is this trend going to continue? On 360T, growth was very low. Was this due to a low level of volatility? Inflation is slowly going down, but it's still driving costs. To what extent can you counter this trend by using automation? Can you enforce price hikes with your customers? Deutsche Börse is a technology company. Its heart is IT. You entered into a strategic partnership with Google Cloud.
What about the business side of this partnership? What does it look like? To what extent can you outsource your IT into the cloud, and what are the cost benefits? You want to create an ecosystem for digital assets together with Google Cloud. What exactly are you planning here? Are you going to use more AI for your business processes? Where are the limits? What are the risks of using AI? To what extent do you use blockchain technology in the custody business? Recently, there have been cyber attacks on companies. You, as an IT service provider, are particularly vulnerable. My questions are as follows: Were there more attacks in 2023 than before? How well is Deutsche Börse prepared and protected against such attacks? In terms of crypto assets, you had to write off $25 million on Crypto Finance in Switzerland.
What was the reason behind that? Moving on to litigation, any news on the litigation with the Iranian Central Bank? Secondly, any new developments in the Cum-Ex complex? Ladies and gentlemen, in terms of ESG, Deutsche Börse has a lot of responsibility to society. It sets criteria, it drives transparency, it provides a market, and ensures fair market prices for the ongoing transformation processes. At Deutsche Börse itself, there are ESG parameters in all areas. In executive board compensation, ESG also plays a role in short- and long-term compensation. Now, the targets have been overachieved, so why don't you increase the targets for the executive board? Why don't you aim for more than 23% women in management positions? I think 30% should be the minimum.
In terms of the employee survey, it seems that there are, there is still some room for improvement in clearing. To what extent do you think are ESG products going to grow over the next few years, and what will be the percentage of the group's entire revenue? Dr. Wyman, stability, forward-looking behavior is important for Deutsche Börse, and you were a master, have been a master at that over the past three years. You were like a rock in the sea. You transformed Deutsche Börse, so now that lots of its revenues are recurring revenues. Deutsche Börse is now an international heavyweight again, and for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now, you're going to be with us until the end of the year, also to make sure that you can prepare a smooth handover to your successor. Dr.
Leithner, we think, we believe that you are the right person for the job, because you know Deutsche Börse like the back of your hand. After all, you've successfully managed pre- and post-trading for the past six years. Please, do us a favor. Please make sure that Deutsche Börse is going to continue to grow. You do use the opportunities to increase revenues and profits. We wish you every success and all the best on this path. With that, let's move on to our voting behavior. We're going to vote yes in all points.
We'd like to thank Mr. Rüdiger for his work on the supervisory board of Deutsche Börse. Mr. Rüdiger, wish you all the best for your time at BlackRock, Germany. Ms. Kozmiensky is a new member. Welcome, ma'am.
We'd like to thank the executive and supervisory boards and employees of Deutsche Börse. We wish you every success in the implementation of your strategy. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Thomae, for your statements and questions. We're going to come back to them later on. Our next speaker is Luca Schiewe from the Association of Ethical Shareholders. And after that, I call Reinhard Fedor Walter Marcius. Mr. Schiewe, you have the floor.
[Foreign language]
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Foreign language]
Mr. Jetter, Mr. Weimer, I'd like to thank all small shareholders who have entrusted their voting rights to us. Thanks to the association for giving me the opportunity to make this statement here. I'd like to say a few words on ISS. Since 2021, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse Group. ISS operates a business that's important for the future: proxy voting for institutional investors, the provision of ESG data, ESG and SDG scores. Those are business parameters for the future financial market infrastructure. Now, first of all, proxy voting. ISS is the largest proxy voter in the year, so it has a lot of responsibility to make sure that democracy for shareholders works as well. At a time when democracy is under pressure, take Exxon. They sued their own shareholders because they criticize the company during the AGM.
At AGMs, there are fewer and fewer motions for sustainability. A few of them are accepted, not because these are low-quality motions, it's because groups of companies are not interested in sustainability. There might be some very good reasons for that in individual cases, why an institutional investor rejects a sustainability motion. But there are some very good motions which would be good for the environment, which is lower risk for shareholders, and many of them are being rejected because of ISS recommendations. The Voting Matters report analyzes 257 motions tabled at AGMs on the most pressing ESG questions. Of those 257 motions, in 2023, only eight were accepted. That's only 3%. In 2021, 21 of those motions were tabled, and that figure is now down to three.
The main reason is that some custodians, also, associations using ISS, are less interested in sustainability. Their explanations are unfounded. They say that motions are too prescriptive. But in actual fact, three-quarters of those motions only demand more transparency in sustainability matters. One of the reasons is that ISS, it only recommended in 78% of cases to vote for ESG matters, and that is still better than the second-largest proxy voter, Glass Lewis. But the others, Amundi, Nordea, BNP Paribas, Robeco, Santander, Union Investment, HSBC, Generali, Legal & General, they voted for 92% to 98% of those motions. So they seem to be more interested in sustainability matters, and that shows that there's a lot of room for improvement at ISS. Let me give you an example.
In 2023, there was a motion for Shell demanding that between now and 2030, CO2 emissions are reduced in line with the Paris Agreement. ISS said at the time that the motion should be rejected. 27 institutional investors and NGO follow this, submitted a new motion, and ISS published an analysis on that. Here they explain why this motion is important: because it's important to reduce CO2 emissions. But when it comes to the recommendation, they recommend that this motion is rejected. This is illogical. So my question is: why does ISS say in its analysis, this motion makes sense, but then they recommend to reject it? The only argument that ISS uses is that this whole motion is directed against the Shell's strategy.
With that argument, no motion could be tabled that is against Shell's strategy. Will ISS recommend to reject any motions that are directed against the company's strategy? Moving on to the ISS ESG corporate rating. This ESG rating follows a double principle. It looks at the financial risks for the company and the impact of the company on the environment and society. Recently, the EU Parliament demanded that EU regulators are being harmonized, and one point of criticism was a lack of transparency. I've been monitoring the ESG rating market for a couple of years now. The transparency of ESG ratings has really improved over the past three years. Having said that, there is still room for improvement. ESG ratings must become even more transparent because they are important for further sustainability.
Here are my questions: When does ISS plan to show on its website to offer separate ESG scores rather than one aggregate ESG score? For the ESG corporate rating, ISS says that they use around seven hundred indicators. That's... An example is given in the description of the methodology, but here, only thirty-seven of those seven hundred indicators are published. When does ISS plan to publish the whole list of seven hundred indicators? So far, ISS has only disclosed part of its primary sources. They use OECD reports, ILO databases, media sources in general, NGOs in general, without being specific. So my question is: when does ISS plan to publish a full list of all primary sources used in the corporate ESG rating, available and accessible to everyone? The ESG corporate rating is also awarded by ISS through its own parent company, Deutsche Börse.
If you look at the rating of Deutsche Börse on the ISS website, I can't see that the subsidiary is here evaluating its own parent company. ISS does have a policy of non-interference related to Deutsche Börse, and in the code of ethics of ISS, it says that there are no conflicts of interest with Deutsche Börse. But don't you think that this information should also be displayed on the website at the point where Deutsche Börse's rating is shown? When will ISS say that they are evaluating their own parent company here? Same also applies to companies that's on the DB-affiliated companies list of ISS. In other words, companies affiliated to Deutsche Börse. When will ISS add some notification, some additional information on the website? Do ESG ratings capture risks and... Do ESG ratings capture risks?
There was a study of this title, Plastic-Based Criteria in the ISS ESG corporate rating have not been sufficiently included. But ISS does have expertise in the field of plastics, because in the past there was the selective ISS Beyond Plastics Waste Index by ISS and a selective ISS ESG Future Plastics Index. Plastic has a lot of impact on ESG. Investors must be able to identify those risks, and therefore, ESG rating providers must integrate them into their ratings. So we hope that going forward, ISS is going to include ESG criteria into their ESG ratings, especially with a focus on plastic. And here are my questions: What about corporate CO2 emissions in the various stages of plastic emission, like polymers, raw material extraction, et cetera? Are you going to include them in the ISS ESG corporate rating?
Are there any plans to use the plastic footprint of companies, the volume of plastic material that is produced, used, or sold? Are you going to include that in the ISS ESG rating? Are there plans in that rating to include information on whether companies actually measure their plastic footprint correctly and publicize it? Are there any plans to include information on companies and whether they have any tangible targets on one-way plastic? Are there any plans to also include the social impact of the use of plastic on vulnerable and marginalized groups, and to also focus on social inequalities? One final question on the Supply Chain Act. The EU has decided that the corpus of the financial sector is not covered by this relevant regulation.
A financial institution must check the supplier of its office chairs, but not whether they harm indigenous people with certain investments. But there's a review clause, so that decision is not set in stone. What is Deutsche Börse's position in this regard? Should the financial sector be included fully in that regulation? Thank you very much for your attention and for answering my questions. I wish Deutsche Börse and ISS and all its employees a good and strong financial year. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Schiewe, for your questions. We shall answer your many questions in detail afterwards. I would now like to give the floor to Reinhard Fedor Walter Marcius, and before I do so, let me call the next speaker. That's going to be Gerd Ulrich Tausendfreund. But before that, the floor is yours, dear Mr. Reinhard Fedor Walter Marcius. The floor is yours.
My name is Reinhard Marcius. Unfortunately, my parents were keen on giving me some extra first names, so it's a bit lengthy. But the second one, Walter Marcius, you might remember as a name known from the past. Now, firstly, I believe you, as a Supervisory Board Chairman, are doing an excellent job chairing this meeting, and I also very much like the way in which the CEO gave his speech.
Firstly, I would like to comment on the following: all companies worldwide have more and more problems with the proxy voting process. Let's take my example. I'm sixty-five years old, and reflecting on how I buy and hold shares these days, I do so less and less using a German bank or consortium bank, but rather, I hold about ten times as many shares using Interactive Brokers and their derivative products. What I really don't like is that these voting proxy representatives don't allow me to take part personally at reasonable cost in the general meetings. I am not able to-
[Foreign language]
Cooperate with a shareholder association, and you might know that the Martius family is kind of connected to the German DSW. So execute by such a role is not possible. Now, might you not check, please, whether such things can be handled better in the sense of shareholder democracy? Let me now come to a point mentioned by the CEO, who has done an outstanding job over the last seven years. And also, he, let me say, criticized the capital market in Germany to a certain extent. And I need to elaborate a bit on this. Your company is about 30 years old. I started with IBM Germany one year before your current Supervisory Board Chairman did.
Back then, there was Deutsche Terminbörse, a project developed by Arthur Andersen Consulting, and all of a sudden, this product of what was to be the future Eurex was developed there, an important product for you, and a cash cow which is rather unparalleled. Unfortunately, with the formation of the German capital market and with this company that provided for a shareholder structure, which, together with the regulators, had no interest whatsoever in a situation where private or retail investors could participate in that market in any larger extent. That is why a situation prevails in which there's less and less derivatives business, so calls, puts, and so on, that are executed by retail investors. Because this risk-free business of holding a share is something which is being managed or serviced with an entirely different risk class as compared to buying the products from a bank.
You might see that you might have some catching up to do there. Your market cap went up quite substantially over recent years. How can it be that when it comes to your own product, DB One, you've got the American and the U.S. options on it? But with such a successful entity, how come you don't have weekly options? Your pricing system in this area for the market makers is below average. And why is that? If I trade at other derivatives exchanges, I always see the prices listed. In your case, I don't. And a market maker has no intention or no idea of how to set the price.
Let me tell you, when I take a Eurex product and I need to trade it, or trade with it, and if next to it, I've got a product in the U.S., I generate triple the amount of sale revenue. I find it is a shame that I've explained this repeatedly to your staff, but still, it is the ticket fee that you make a profit on as an exchange for options and futures. You open a ticket, but you don't close it again. So in this connection, Mr. Weimer, what I could imagine is that your market capitalization, although you might not need the capital at the moment, could be substantially increased in the years to come if you were to handle the one or the other subsidiary in similar ways as the Porsche and Piech families do it in the Volkswagen Group.
Let's say one of your most beautiful subsidiaries is Eurex. If that was placed at the center, we could easily see that. You could do a lot based on that. You could go for the continuation of the German capital market, and you've got a great many options. Unfortunately, in recent years, the German Börsen-Zeitung, the stock exchange news, which was the only event covering everything, no longer covers this. Now, I'd be very pleased if at the next AGM, it was possible to also see weekly contracts covering your share. In this context, I'd be interested to know, for your own staff, and you just outlined that beautifully, what you did over the last ten years. You've very much strengthened the substance of the company, but do your staff participate from that?
Do you make use of the EUR 1,440 subsidy that you can grant? This was-- the amount was increased substantially so that all of your staff are able to buy, and if not, why not? I'd be very happy if that was happening. I've been active in the capital market for many, many years now, and I would never have imagined that we ever have investment fund savings plans worth EUR 7 billion. That's a really large figure. Now, in this segment for retail investors, you have a lot of revenue potential still untapped.
[Foreign language]
And there's a lot you can still do.
[Foreign language]
Another thing I'd like to know: looking at your international competitors—
[Foreign language]
They're more and more becoming software companies, increasing revenue in that segment. ICE by now, in my view, is the leading entity when it comes to trading software. Do you have, have you got something comparable, or do you plan for something comparable?
[Foreign language]
Next-
[Foreign language]
I'd like to give some more input.
[Foreign language]
You said quite rightly that the German capital market is underrepresented.
[Foreign language]
The European capital market is very much of interest, nevertheless.
Dimensional Fund Advisors
And if you look at Dimensional Fund Advisors, and they're very good capital market research, then
STOXX 600
Might it not be an idea to take your stock six hundred family?
Also
and come up with
ETFs und Eurex-
Equally nice industry ETFs and Eurex contracts, offering liquidity across the whole of Europe, which are good value for money, and where you could attach all of your other products. The German capital market is small.
[Foreign language]
The bond market is a lot larger by now, but-
[Foreign language]
Stocks are extremely important for us in Germany, too, and maybe you could add this European perspective.
[Foreign language]
The mistake that was made with the German stock index-
[Foreign language]
Could be corrected by adding and using European indices with a good range.
[Foreign language]
I mean, look at the situation. Our society is becoming ever poorer. The seventh largest employer in Germany is a bottle manufacturer.
[Foreign language]
Or rather, largest job is that of people collecting bottles to collect the deposit on them.
[Foreign language]
My son is currently studying at university, and when it comes to training and education, there's a lot of potential to be untapped in Germany. Looking at Covid and the ensuing three years-
[Foreign language]
how many entities offering good training
[Foreign language]
On the internet, offering-
[Foreign language]
Services and charging
Performance area
For people to be trained on in investment, that also means there's a lot of potential, and it would mean that there are far fewer people out on the streets looking for jobs.
[Foreign language]
It's a major task to be addressed on behalf of the entire society, and I think the previous speaker would be a lot happier. Let me now come and comment on what was said by two of the previous speakers representing fund companies.
[Foreign language]
I always like the fact that stocks mean direct participation. These days, a lot is happening via investment funds, and it's also one of your growing business segments.
[Foreign language]
Now, I think it would be very nice if, for example, the two fund managers, who are amongst the largest in Germany, DWS and Deka, if next year—
[Foreign language]
They were given an extra fifty guest cards, and at the next physical AGM, because they do assume that the new CEO will opt for a physical AGM at Frankfurt next year in Frankfurt. If these fund investors could then also come somewhat closer to the idea of a stock corporation. Thank you very much for listening, and I'm very happy to see that you're managing the company so successfully, and I'm very confident that you can even accelerate on that in the future.
[Foreign language]
Thank you very much, Mr. Martius. Those were highly interesting questions and remarks that we shall be happy to answer and comment on afterwards. Now, I'd like to give the floor to Gerd Ulrich Tausendfreund, a familiar face from the supervisory board of the past. The floor goes to you, and also when it comes to requests to speak, Mr. Tausendfreund is the last speaker. We've got no further requests to speak. Mr. Tausendfreund, the floor is yours.
[Foreign language]
Thank you, Mr. Jetter. I'm Gerd Tausendfreund, and I'm a retail investor, and I live in Nidderau, which is close to Frankfurt.
[Foreign language]
Mr. Jetter, on behalf of the Supervisory Board, Mr. Weimer, on behalf of the Management Board. First of all, respect and appreciation for what was achieved over the past financial year, and also my request to please pass this on to all of the staff.
[Foreign language]
Dear shareholders, I shall only comment on one single point, which is the way this AGM is held, a virtual AGM.
[Foreign language]
versus physical presence or also a hybrid format.
[Foreign language]
In your introductory remarks, Mr. Jetter, you said that-
[Foreign language]
There was very good feedback regarding the virtual AGM.
[Foreign language]
The speakers so far at this AGM say the opposite, and I would subscribe to that. Mr. Weimer, in your report, you said thank you for also critical remarks, and this shall be one of them.
[Foreign language]
I have a request and-
[Foreign language]
An expectation of the Supervisory and Management Board for the future to have physical attendance AGMs again in the future. This is not any audit request, it is really just something that I ask you to do. If you really care about the shareholders of Deutsche Börse, and if you care for shareholder participation, then the cost argument can't be playing such a large role. Also, the fact that the shareholders sit distributed across the world is not an argument that strikes here. Many other large corporations have similar situations, similar structures as Deutsche Börse, and they still returned to physical presence meetings after the pandemic. A virtual AGM means that shareholders who don't have the necessary equipment cannot participate in the general meeting, and that, I think, should not be allowed.
Especially the last AGM, where there were very few requests to speak, showed that shareholder participation was rather low, and Supervisory and Management Board should have an interest in hearing the opinion and the interests of their shareholders in order to be able to take them into account in their future business development and strategies. Mr. Jetter, Mr. Weimer, in all honesty now, the gratitude that you heard addressed to the Management Board, to Mr. Weimer personally, Mr. Jetter , to all of the employees at Deutsche Börse, it would have felt good, and it would have been very justified, most of all, if that gratitude could have been expressed with a sound round of applause of all shareholders. Mr. Weimer, allow me a personal remark to you.
Too early, too late, I think you will find an appropriate format to bid farewell in a proper setting, with the necessary applause and with the necessary people in attendance. All the best to you and Mr. Leithner, to you, all the best of luck and best of success for your new office. Thank you, Mr. Tausendfreund. We will also, of course, answer all of your questions and cover it in the course of the ensuing discussion. Ladies and gentlemen, let me summarize. Thank you for all of your contributions and your very varied comments and questions that we will now answer pertaining to the various blocks of topics. The board members—the Management Board will answer questions addressed to them. I shall answer questions addressed to the Supervisory Board, and the Management Board subscribes to it.
Let me ask Theodor to answer the questions that were addressed at you.
Thank you very much. Starting with the question by Mr. Lang about the validation of our climate goals, the Science Based Targets initiative, measured against it, that is. This is my answer: Back in 2023, our short-term goals until 2030 and our net zero goal until 2040 was submitted for validation to the Science-Based initiative. Under the validation process, we have received the feedback that the process has been completed on the substance questions, and we expect timely publication of our goals on the website of the Science-Based Targets initiative. Mr. Kienle, you asked about the term of our current strategy. The Horizon 2026 strategy reaches into the year 2026. Mr. Kienle also asked about the strategic and economic disadvantages of the capital market regulatory framework, comparing the U.S. and Europe.
Despite very active endeavors on our part when it comes to policymakers, empirical data still shows that the capital markets, market activities have gone down in the international comparison and are less than average, especially when it comes to the comparison with the U.S.. Deutsche Börse is an active contributor to the discussion about the future agenda related to the Capital Markets Union, reducing the strong fragmentation being the goal, strengthening primary markets, and significantly improving the environment for IPOs. In addition, a deepened and clearly more liquid market has to be created. Structurally, the focus has to be on the mobilization of private sector capital and a better environment for investors. For that to happen, tax incentives should be discussed as well, especially when it comes to pensions and savings products. That could mean that fresh capital could support growth, jobs, and innovation.
At the same time, money and fiscal policy could be invested elsewhere, strengthening if the capital market in Europe was strengthened in that strategic sense. Mr. Schmidt, you asked about the basis of our view, published in the annual report when it comes to the Cum-Ex investigations and the entities and also the liability that couldn't be claimed, in our view. The basis is this: the assessment in our annual report is based on internal and third-party legal reviews. The company has sought legal advice by many reputable law firms on the question of liability. Mr. Thomae, you asked about potential further takeovers in the next two years. At the Capital Market Day, we communicated that in 2024, no major M&A transactions are in the pipeline, focusing on the integration of the Investment Management Solutions business and also repaying the debt after the SimCorp transaction.
For a stable double A-minus rating, this is key, and that is why this is our focus. We cannot rule out smaller deals, however, and in the medium term, corporate transactions remain part of our overall strategy to the extent they make strategic and financial sense. Mr. Thomae, you also asked about new insights when it comes to Markazi Bank. The Iranian Central Bank, a U.S. court, on the 22nd of March 2022, issued a decision in the Peterson case, $1.7 billion U.S. that were foreclosed, assigned to Markazi Bank. Bank money that was held in an account at Clearstream. Clearstream appealed against the decision. These appeal proceedings continue, and the decision will not be executed until the final decision will have been taken by the court.
The other party also sued us in Luxembourg to hand over assets, including those assets that are part of the Peterson two decision, and that part of litigation is currently first-level litigation and will continue for years, we believe. Clearstream does not expect right now that paying out client money is something that will be prosecuted successfully before Luxembourg courts when it comes to being liable for damages. Mr. Thomae, you asked about new insights in Cum-Ex. Since 2017, Deutsche Börse Group has known that the Cologne prosecutor has instigated an investigation against an employee of Clearstream Banking AG when it comes to executing Cum-Ex transactions. After that, the Cologne prosecutor expanded the group of persons investigated, persons of interest, to include other former members and also board members of Deutsche Börse company boards.
The year 2022 was the last case, to our knowledge. There are no other material things that came to our knowledge since. All Deutsche Börse companies continue to fully cooperate with the authorities. With that, let me hand back to you, Martin.
Thank you, Theodor, for your answers of the first round of questions. We have received a comprehensive set of questions from you, and to make sure that we don't ask one person to answer 20 questions in a row, we'll just divide it up. So let me ask Gregor Pottmeyer to answer the next few questions.
Thank you. Turning to the question by Mr. Lang on the impact of the expected interest rate reductions on our business.
Looking at current scenarios where one or two interest rate decreases are expected, we believe that in 2024 the net income will be on a similar level as the previous year. As for securities services and fund services together, the number in 2023 was $702 million. Should interest rates go down sooner or more than expected, our diversified business model is something with which we see ourselves as well-positioned to at least partially offset these effects. Mr. Lang, you asked about the organic cost development. We expect organic costs to be disproportionately low compared to the organic net revenues in 2024. Organic cost growth should be slightly below the 5% of the previous year. Turning to the question by Mr. Lang on our dividend policy. Under the most recent update of our Horizon 2026 strategy, our payout policy was modernized.
The corridor was adjusted, within which we are expecting to pay out dividends. 30%- 40% of the distributable profit is now the corridor. This follows up on the trend of recent years and takes into account the expected further profit growth. In addition to the dividend, share buybacks are an additional tool in the use of proceeds. Together with the share buybacks in 2024, we will pay out more than half of last year's profit to our shareholders when taken together, that is. Turning to the question by Mr. Lang on the continuity aspects of our dividend policy. From continuity, the continuity point of view, we understand that with the expectation of further increased profits, our dividend per share will increase every year, year-on-year, and this is a rationale that we introduced for the first time last year.
Lang, thank you for your question on the potential status assigned to Deutsche Börse as a financial holding by BaFin. As we wrote in our group, in our annual report, this will not be about equity payouts or distributions, but based on capital. The general requirements are similar. Equity requirements would depend on the balance sheet's status of Deutsche Börse at the time at which it were assigned financial holding status. And also relating to the companies of Deutsche Börse Group assigned as such. At this point, future equity and capital requirements cannot be given a specific number. We still do not expect to be classified a financial holding company. With that, back to you, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you, Mr. Pottmeyer. Coming back with the next set of answers. And Stephan, let me hand over to you for the next part.
Thank you very much, Martin. Let me first of all answer all questions relating to SimCorp. First of all, about the business model that you asked, Mr. Kienle. Integrated software solutions for our target segment, which is the buy side. That's the focus of SimCorp. With this software, it enables its clients, such as asset managers, pension funds, insurance companies, and asset servicing companies, to do efficient asset management along the entire value chain. Supporting fund managers or fund asset managers with portfolio allocation, but also central settlement steps. You asked about the after-tax profit of SimCorp. We consolidated SimCorp from Q4, and for 2024, SimCorp is expected net income of about EUR 600 million, without Axioma, and EUR 200 million being the EBITDA.
We manage SimCorp just like the rest of the group, based on revenue and profit, and that is why we are not publishing net income after tax for group companies on a standalone basis. There were a number of questions about the synergies. Mr. Kienle, let me start with your question, which was about the end of 2026, when $90 million was the specified expected synergies for the segment. That is a number that we can confirm. You asked about the timeline for the synergies in the segment. Investment Management Solutions, that is beyond SimCorp alone. $90 million, as I said, that's the general synergies, of which 60% are to be achieved by the end of 2024, and then the remainder, 90%, until 2026, end of 2026. The next question was by Mr.
Thomae about the timeline, and I've just answered that. But beyond that, the distribution, when it comes to the various activities, cost income synergies or cost revenue synergies. $55 million is the cost synergy and $35 million, the revenue synergies that we're expecting from the $90 million overall synergies that we are expecting. The last question in that category was about the margin that we are hoping for from SimCorp. Looking at the overall Investment Management Solutions segment under Horizon 2026, planning for 2026, a 45% EBITDA margin is expected, and we still expect that to be the case based on current development. And with that, let me hand back to you, Martin. Thank you, Stephan, for these answers. We'll certainly come back to you because a lot of questions will be answered by you, just like Greg or Potschwadek.
My answers are as follows: Mr. Lang, you asked about the future format of the AGM and whether the shareholders were asked. As I said before, I want to emphasize that irrespective of the positive experience with last year's AGM, when it comes to the format, we didn't determine the format of future AGMs. We see both virtual AGMs and in-person AGMs as possible formats. The AGM authorized the executive board at approval rate of more than 80% to hold virtual AGMs, and this authorization is in place until 2025. The executive board will decide on the format next year at the appropriate time, taking into account shareholder interests. We'll look at the specific circumstances and the experience until then.
The format of future AGMs is also something that I asked about in the governance roadshow when talking to investors, and the feedback there was positive on the virtual format for the current authorized period, and also the way in which we're implementing this format. Mr. Lange asked about the format of investor talks in 2023. Eighteen investor appointments and proxy appointments that I had last year, of which eleven were virtual formats, more than 60%. I may say that there weren't any one-on-ones, really. Quite often, there were different locations that were represented. For example, on topics such as ESG, where investors participated by video, which allowed me to talk to more investors compared to face-to-face. But it was a mix of the two formats. Mr. Kienle, you asked about the criteria when it comes to the decision in favor of Dr. Leithner, the key criteria.
Since 2018, he's been a member of the executive board with responsibility for pre- and post-trading. His current responsibilities include the strategically important segment of Investment Management Solutions with ISS Stocks and SimCorp, and the post-trade business of the group with Clearstream. Before that, he worked for EQT, a leading company for equity, and he was an executive board member at Deutsche Bank and a partner at McKinsey & Company. Dr. Leithner is a renowned and acknowledged expert of capital markets. He knows the global exchange organizations and landscape, with strong focus on our customers and their needs. In addition, Dr. Leithner was instrumental in the strategic development of Deutsche Börse Group. It's our conviction that Dr. Leithner fulfills all requirements to continue the successful path of Deutsche Börse.
Kienle, you asked about CEO succession and specifically the number of candidates outside Deutsche Börse and how many were shortlisted. Supported by an international HR expert, the supervisory board explored potential candidates for this position at Deutsche Börse. At the start of the process, dozens of potentially eligible candidates were assessed as to their qualities and capabilities. More than fifty companies were analyzed before that from the international, let me emphasize, international financial industry. About a dozen were then shortlisted from that exercise, of whom about half were put on the ultimate shortlist, including Dr. Leithner as our in-house candidate. Mr. Schmidt, the timely sending out of supervisory board preparation documents was a point that is important, of course.
According to our rules of procedure, it's actually ten full working days before the meeting where we have to receive the documents, and at least four full working days, that's the period in which, in the second round, the documentation has to be made available to the supervisory board members. We have fully complied with these deadlines. Should documentation be made available at shorter notice, this is due to events that simply made it impossible, or rather, necessary to amend or submit new documents. This is also reflected in the very positive assessment by the supervisory board itself when it comes to how its activities are organized, our annual self-assessment. Mr. Schmidt, you asked about publication of the rules of procedure for the executive board as well.
Let me answer as follows: Currently, there is no clear legal rule or actually common practice in the market for this. Publication of the rules of procedure is something where the German corporate governance code recommends it for the supervisory board. It's only half of all companies are in the DAX 40 also publish the executive board's rules of procedure. Deutsche Börse AG is currently investigating whether we should also publish rules of procedure for the executive board, and the decision will be taken in the course of this year.
Let me now hand over to Thomas Book to answer the questions about his remit.
Thank you very much, Mr. Jetter. I'd like to answer the questions from Mr. Thomae about trading and clearing. Mr. Thomae, you asked about the share in OTC clearing.
The current volume is EUR 34 billion, an all-time high, a market share of just under 20%. We still see good liquidity and rising clearing activities. The volume in 2024 for interest swaps was 17% higher than the previous year's level when it comes to volume cleared. You asked about EEX and the strong growth, and whether it's expected to continue. In his speech, our CEO underlined the excellent development that we are, of course, happy about. EEX has very high market shares in the forward markets for power and the spot markets for natural gas, and further growth is possible by developing new trading functions and opening up new customer groups. Both segments benefit from the rising importance of algo trading, a practice that other commodities futures exchanges have made clear.
There's more potential to increase the size of the market, especially when it comes to forward our futures markets. Constantly improving our product offering and a close dialogue with customers allowed EEX to strengthen its market shares in recent years, steadily so, and we expect that trend to continue in the future. We see a continuing trend from the OTC market towards the cleared, towards cleared business, which benefits EEX. Mr. Thomae, you asked about the small growth of 360T. 360T generated a revenue growth of 5% in the last fiscal year. Volatility went down in 2023, as you rightly said, but there is cyclical headwind that this caused. But the good secular growth of 360T overcompensated for that. Mr. Thomae, you asked about the introduction of short-term interest rate futures and their development. We see this as a positive development.
Since its introduction, more than 22 million contracts were traded in this market segment, and we see good liquidity, a good liquidity pattern, constantly improving, in fact. Our market share in traded Euro futures contracts was 7% in 2024. Short-term euro rate interest rate futures, the STIR futures, there we have a market share of just under 50% of traded contracts, which makes us current market leader. Mr. Thomae, you asked about the reason for the write-down of our Crypto Finance investment. It offers brokerage, settlement for cryptocurrencies from Zurich. Over the past two years, weak market conditions during the crypto winter meant that this business suffered. Well, that led to this amortization. The recovery of the market environment in the second half of 2023 and this year, 2024, mean that the business model of Crypto Finance is benefiting.
From the strategic point of view, Crypto Finance AG's products are an important component in what we offer to our institutional investors, expanding our offer constantly. And with that, back to you, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you, Dr. Book, for your answers. Let's turn to the second round of answers, starting with Gregor Pottmeyer.
Thank you. I'll answer the six questions by Mr. Kienle. Mr. Kienle, you asked about our planning for the share of recurring revenue over the next few years. Last year, the share of annual recurring revenue was 63%. Until 2026, we're expecting a constant increase to 65%- 70%. Mr. Kienle, you also asked about the use of the shares bought back. We can confirm that the share buyback exclusively serves the purpose of a capital reduction, as at Deutsche Börse AG. The 1.6 million in 2024 that were bought back this year will be canceled soon according to this process. The payout ratio under the latest update of Horizon 2026, our distribution or dividend policy was modernized, adjusting the corridor within which we are paying out dividends.
It's now 30%- 40% of the profit. That follows up on the trend of recent years in a seamless way, and it takes into account the expected further profit growth. For the first time, we are planning for the dividend per share to increase year on year. In addition to the dividend, share buybacks are an additional flexible way of using our profits. Together with the share buybacks in 2024, we are distributing clearly more than half of last year's profit to our shareholders. Mr. Kienle, you asked about the interest rate we're using when it comes to the projections for Horizon 2026. Our 2024-2026 is based on the expectation that the short-term interest rates in the U.S. and Europe will move to a level of 2.5%- 3%, moving down towards that, that is.
Our net interest income for Clearstream, that was $700 million, would move to $500 million in 2026, which reflects the according decline. Mr. Kienle, you also asked about our growth goals and whether they are specified before or after currency translation. Of course, our business information is based on expected exchange rate changes, especially between the U.S. dollar and the euro, but only a small part of our business depends on U.S. dollar-denominated business. We see no major impact on the expected growth rates of either net revenue or EBITDA until 2026. Mr. Kienle, you then asked us to explain the difference between the two kinds of organic growth. Organic growth distinguishes between secular and cyclical growth. Secular growth is something we can drive based on product innovation, winning market share, and winning new customers.
This means we have a direct, direct influence over that. Cyclical growth depends on external factors, such as interest rates and market volatility. In the past, secular growth was the key driver of our organic growth. We're expecting this to continue in the future. With that, let me hand back to you, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you, Mr. Potschwadek. Stephan's second round.
I have some more questions from Mr. Thome and Mr. Kienle on SimCorp, IMS, and ISS STOXX . Mr. Kienle, there was a question concerning the criteria concerning the confidentiality of data. Deutsche Börse, in its data business, sets great store by the quality of its data. As for our own data, the quality of its data is based on our clearly defined models, regulations, and the market monitoring. In ISS STOXX , the collection and preparation of data is a core competency. To make sure that the data and quality of ISS STOXX are high quality data, there are processes in place that check data consistency and quality checks. In addition, we have specially trained personnel around the world for this process. With that, I'd like to come back to SimCorp, especially, and Mr. Thome's question regarding the target yields.
I just mentioned the target margin for the IMS segment. In general, Deutsche Börse Group, in its acquisitions, wants at least a margin that covers the capital costs. In addition, we aim to improve the EPS, cash EPS, specifically. Currently, we expect that the SimCorp acquisition is going to meet both requirements. Next, the integration question by Mr. Thome. The integration is going according to plan. We are very satisfied with the progress we made over the past few months, which was achieved together. The former Axioma organization and its functional and geographic structures have been completely integrated into SimCorp, allowing us to raise lots of synergies. You ask another question concerning the model change to the subscription model. Mr. Thome, the transition to the subscription model software as a service has had positive effects on revenue.
For instance, a higher percentage of revenue, recurring revenue, and the opportunity of hosting and data management services. You also asked a question concerning the necessity of further acquisitions and the position of SimCorp in the competitive environment. As mentioned before, in the Capital Markets Day in November of last year, we said that following the SimCorp acquisition, for the next twelve to eighteen months, we're going to focus on the integration of SimCorp, Axioma, and ISS STOXX . As for the use of financial funds, we want to lower our debt in that period in order to maintain our double A-minus rating, so major acquisitions are not planned in that period.
Smaller acquisitions, if they make sense from a financial and strategic point of view, might be made, but we do not have any specific plans in that regard at this point in time, and this also applies to SimCorp. We feel that we are well-positioned at this point in time. Right, moving on. You had a question concerning the competitive position and our situation and SimCorp's position in the United States. We acquired SimCorp because we believe that this is a leading software solution for our target segment, the buy side. Integration of Axioma, from what we hear from customers, seems to confirm the attractiveness of SimCorp. For SimCorp and Axioma, we want growth rates between now and 2026 of 11% per year. We expect the North America region is going to make a major contribution to this target.
We're investing in distribution capacities, marketing, and cross-selling. We're breaking down the... But we do not break down the net revenue into smaller end pieces. I think I've covered the questions concerning the competitive situation. I'd like to come back to one question you asked, Mr. Thomae, concerning the role of General Atlantic in the context of ISS Stocks. In late April 2023, we communicated that GA, as part of the combination of STOXX and ISS , is going to invest more capital after the restructuring of the IMS segment. This actually happened, and GA is the only minority shareholder of the combined ISS Stocks unit, with a share of around 20%. We're in touch with GA. There's a constructive dialogue on the ISS Stocks business. They are a constructive and a good partner in this context.
Right, I think, Martin, that handles or covers this block of questions. With that, back to you.
Thank you, Stephan. Ladies and gentlemen, we had a number of IT and cyber questions, so I'd like to hand over to Dr. Böhm for the first set of questions.
Thank you, Mr. Jetter. Question by Mr. Lang on the number of cyberattacks in the last financial year, and to what extent we were able to defend them, fend them off. Like any other company, Deutsche Börse is subject to permanent cyberattacks. So last year, our focus was on cybersecurity and information security. We're continuously improving our systems. They must be able to fend off vectors and attack methods, and we invested into those processes over the past few years. As a result, we have better protection.
No core system of Deutsche Börse was affected by a cyberattack last year. Our protection monitoring mechanisms have enabled us to fend off any attacks at a very early stage. Please understand that we cannot give details on specific defense mechanisms for reasons of confidentiality. Mr. Kienle, moving on to your questions. Question on the role of IT and its targets as part of Compass 2023. By tradition, Deutsche Börse's IT, and this also applies to Horizon 2026, by the way, sees itself as a reliable partner, a strong partner of our strong divisions. In this role, IT delivers based on projects and releases, we stand for a maximum of operating resilience. The expectations from the Compass 2023 strategies were all fulfilled. In terms of technological transformation, that is, our multi-cloud strategy, the targets were achieved earlier than expected. Thank you.
Next question, question by Mr. Kienle: the use of AI in Deutsche Börse Group. Deutsche Börse Group sees AI as a relevant trend, an important trend. We have a lot of practical experience with machine learning, with automation, which are subsets of artificial intelligence. We have a number of use cases in a number of divisions of the company. For instance, in data and document administration, but also in support functionalities. Next question by Mr. Kienle on revenue or cost effects when using AI. AI is an important trend. It has a long-term strategic relevance. In this context, Deutsche Börse is getting ready on a scalable use of artificial intelligence. The impact on revenue and costs is rather short, and rather low in the short and medium term. But there are positive effects, like productivity enhancements.
Those are to be expected. In addition, there are use cases that improve service and user-friendliness. Mr. Jetter, back to you.
Thank you, Dr. Böhm, for those answers. Next, Ms. Eckert, please.
Thank you, Mr. Jetter. Question by Mr. Thomae concerning the women's quota in senior management. This ratio has risen from 16% to 23% since 2020. The group target was achieved in 2023. For 2024, the executive board has set the target to 24% for the upper senior management level and 23% for the lower management level. Question by Mr. Martius on the promotion of employees when it comes to employee profit participation. On an annual basis, we offer them a program, and the amount you mentioned of EUR 1,450 can be used by them in Germany.
Starting in 2024, this amount is going to increase to EUR 2,000. With that, back to you, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you, Ms. Eckert. I'd like to come back to Mr. Pottmeyer. He has the next set of answers. Mr. Pottmeyer.
Thank you. I have a number of questions raised by Mr. Thomae. You asked about the secular trends. Are they strong enough to achieve a 7% organic growth? We... Yes, we can confirm that. In fact, we expect a structural or secular growth of net revenue of between 5%- 6% on average per year between 2022 and 2026. The forecast of 7% organic growth, however, also contains the assumption of slight cyclical tailwinds. This has in fact happened, as expected. There was a question on the share of recurring revenue between now and 2026.
There were cyclical developments, and we expect that recurring revenue will be between 65% and 70%. Question: Can we confirm the expectations for the full year? Bearing in mind the current interest rate scenario is only one or two interest rate decreases this year. We expect that this year, NII will be approximately the same as in the prior year. For security services and fund services taken together, the figure for 2023 was $702 million. Question: To what extent can we improve our gearing this year? Last year, Standard & Poor's, which use net debt to EBITDA, we achieved 2.2. For later this year, we expect a figure of less than two. You asked about our reactions to cost inflation. We always improve cost efficiency by using automation processes.
We can make up for a normal inflation level. We also adapt prices across the group every year, and this also helps to mitigate inflationary effects, at least to a certain degree. Mr. Thomae's last question concerning the growth of ESG products next year. What is this growth going to be? What will be the percentage of the total revenue? We expect that our ESG revenue are going to develop similar to our total revenues. Currently account for 7%, and we expect that this figure will remain largely unchanged. With that, back to you, Mr. Jetter. Thank you, Mr. Potschwadek. I'm going to handle the next set of questions. Mr. Schmidt, you asked about details in the handover process. CEO Dr. Leithner has been appointed as Deputy CEO as at the beginning of October, and he's going to be co-CEO with Dr.
Weimer until the end of the year. Starting on the first of January 2025, Dr. Leithner will be the sole CEO. Now, we are working on a successor to Dr. Leithner in his current division. The supervisory board is dealing that, and we can base this process on succession planning, and I think we are well on track here, and I think that we can report some preliminary results in due course. Mr. Schmidt, concerning Cum-Ex, you asked about an expert opinion commissioned by the Hessian Economics Ministry, whether the supervisory board dealt with that expert opinion. The supervisory board gets regular reports on Cum-Ex. The documents created by Hogan Lovells , commissioned by the ministry, were also reviewed by the supervisory board.
Its conclusions were reviewed by external legal advisors on behalf of Deutsche Börse, and I'd like to emphasize and add that in the opinion of Deutsche Börse, the statements made by Hogan Lovells are inaccurate in many important points. The supervisory board dealt with this issue at seven separate meetings. Mr. Schmidt, you asked about the peer group to determine total relative shareholder return as part of the executive board compensation. STOXX Europe 600 Financials and the related companies, companies due to the industries they belong to, they are the relevant group to measure the total shareholder return. Our business portfolio is very diversified, and so we compare ourselves to a peer group that covers the entire financial industry. There are mutual relationships.
We and therefore, we include stock exchanges, banks, financial services companies, asset managers, insurance companies, and also competitors of Deutsche Börse. They're all part of this peer group. Important competitors include London, London Stock Exchange Group and Euronext, among others. We discussed it at several occasions, and you mentioned several times that Deutsche Börse is changing in a positive way, as we heard today, and we're going to stay in touch. Vielen Dank für die Frage zu den ESG-Zielen. Thanks for your question on ESG targets, Mr. Thomae. You are right, over the past few years, the ESG targets, which accounted for 25% of long-term remuneration, we've achieved that target. We look at that based on the five-year performance period, and therefore, stability in the targets is important, and we're not going to make any retroactive adjustments.
There will be reviews of the executive board compensation systems, and as part of those reviews, of course, we're going to look at the calibration of ESG targets, and if and when necessary, we're going to make changes. Next year, 2025, the remuneration system must be confirmed by shareholders. So after the AGM, we're going to take a very close look at this topic, and then we're going to talk to the investors in the autumn, and we can make detailed proposals in due course.
With that, I'd like to hand over to Dr. Böhm for his second round of questions on IT. [Foreign language]
Questions by Mr. Thomae on cyber attacks in 2023. Over the past few years, Deutsche Börse focused very much on cybersecurity. We continuously improved the protection of our systems.
We have to get ready for the changing attack methods, and we are making the necessary investments to achieve our targets here. As a result, no core system of Deutsche Börse was affected by a cyberattack in the last financial year. Our protection and monitoring methods and systems have allowed us to fend off any attacks at a very early point in time. Question by Mr. Thomae on the quality of protection against hacker attacks. Like any other company, Deutsche Börse is subject to continuous attacks, and therefore, we are continuously improving our systems. As for individual measures, you will understand we can't disclose any details for confidentiality reasons. Generally speaking, Deutsche Börse is protecting itself at various levels in the development phase, but also in operations. Questions on the risks of using AI. Deutsche Börse is taking AI very seriously.
Potential use cases and applications of third parties need to be analyzed carefully before actually using them. Here we use existing risk management and the governance framework of the group. We're improving it as we go along when it comes to artificial intelligence. A question on the use of AI in business processes. Deutsche Börse Group has years of experience in automation and machine learning as forms of AI. Deutsche Börse Group sees various applications in different business areas, especially data and document management in the context of internal administrative processes. In addition, new ideas and use cases are developed by Deutsche Börse, for instance, the support of software development and the software tests. The question on the business side of the Google Cloud partnership. For several years now, Deutsche Börse Group has pursued a hybrid multi-cloud strategy.
With our strategic partners, we're pursuing long-term strategic and business targets. The cloud partnership enables us and our clients to benefit from the development of new business opportunities, like creating new marketplaces. We get access to best practice functionalities and expertise. We become more flexible in terms of our infrastructure and resource bases, and we can also accelerate the development processes. In addition, our strategic partners take an active part in the necessary investments into the future. Last question by Mr. Thomae: outsourcing of IT infrastructure and the resulting positive effects on the cost base. As part of the multi-cloud strategy of this company, IT computing power is moved to the cloud. Around 50% of our capacity have migrated to the cloud. In this context, the operating costs for running our applications have not increased.
In the medium term, we expect that costs are going to decrease, rather. The multi-cloud strategy of the group has made an important contribution to make sure that there's a good balance between investments and operating costs. Back to you, Mr. Jetta.
Thank you, Dr. Böhm. Moving on to... or moving back to Stephan Leithner. Stephan, please.
Thank you, Mr. Thomae. There's one point remaining regarding SimCorp and the model change. I'd like to add to that, and then move on to answer questions on Clearstream. As for the SimCorp Axioma development, the SaaS transformation, of course, is a major module that is making good progress. In 2023, SimCorp Axioma showed solid growth with SaaS transformation, which is reflected in the SaaS sales growth of about 40% versus previous year. That kind of growth is driven by the transformation of existing customers, but also attracting new SaaS customers. As already stated, we've got a high two-digit number of SaaS customers, and we are going to expand the customer base here quite substantially. Let me now move on to the topics to do with Clearstream and our funds business. In particular, Mr.
Kiener, you asked about the target groups of our fund service segment. The Clearstream Fund Service Offer mostly aims at professionals with regulated customers as a target group. Our service portfolio is available to fund distribution partners, such as banks or fund platforms, and asset managers as part of their operational business. You also asked for the current positioning within our target group segments for the fund service business. We have a leading position in the European core market and are growing with a lot of momentum within our target groups here, which is fund distribution partners and asset managers. The Clearstream Fund Service model is an offer of global reach, and especially in the Asian region, we have identified substantial additional growth potential. In this context, Mr. Kienle, you also asked about the size and profitability, whether there is a critical size.
Our fund service business, both historically and currently, has a positive operating margin and operates on a scalable basis. It's highly efficient in its core services along the entire value chain, so we feel clearly above the critical minimum size and well-positioned when it comes to profitability. Mr. Thomae, you also asked about the fund service business, and I shall now answer your question on M&A. Our position, as just outlined, is very good when it comes to critical size. For competitive reasons, we have a fund distribution and sales platform, which we've continuously expanded over recent years. In that, we aimed at targeted acquisitions and service portfolios, and with that, we can generate good organic growth on that basis, and that is exactly what we're focused on.
Currently, there's no active M&A plans that we're pursuing but, of course, we're monitoring and observing the key competitors and the market as a whole. Regarding growth for the fund service segment in the previous year and also currently, you asked the question, given the macroeconomic challenges, the performance in the fund markets in 2023 was driven by value fluctuations and moderate market dynamics. That is reflected in the income of Clearstream Funds Services, which grew less strongly than in the past. Nevertheless, in the past year, on the volume side, we grew more strongly than the overall market and also as compared to our core competitors. So, as in our strategy horizon 2026, we continue to see a good growth momentum for the overall market and segment for the future. Also, Mr.
Thomas, in this context, and going beyond the funds business, you asked for blockchain technology. To answer that, at the end of March 2024, there were about 25,000 digital issues that we managed via our T7 platform that was already mentioned. Apart from the issue of structured retail products for the German market, we can now also go for classic fixed interest products for the German and international market. Also, Clearstream is the only central custodian which is taking part in the current trial implementation of the ECB across the entire range. In order to optimize, support those tests, Clearstream has a digital post-trading platform, T7, that we already talked about and also expanded it by DLT functionalities. Our commitment to developing the digital euro stresses the pioneer role of Clearstream, also when it comes to things such as DLT.
And with that, back to you, Martin.
Thank you, Stephan, and I'll now give the floor to you, Theodor, for the next block of answers.
There was one question still pending with Mr. Kiener, asking for the introduction of more voting right shares and simplification of the exclusion of the subscription right. My answer: Group Deutsche Börse very much supports the efforts undertaken by the federal government to improve the performance of the German capital market and thus enhance the relevance of German as a financial location as part of the strong European financial market. The Financing Act for the future constitutes a first important step in that direction. We welcome the introduction of more voting right shares and the simplified exclusion of subscription rights because it means better position in the competition with jurisdictions that already apply this.
Rest assured that we'll continue to actively act in favor of a structural improvement of the capital market environment beyond the measures just described. Mr. Schiewe, you asked whether Deutsche Börse was in favor of a situation where the financial sector is fully incorporated into the Supply Chain Act. The answer: Group Deutsche Börse will not participate in speculations regarding the future form of that legislation. We also need to state that the reassessment of the questions to do with the financial sector is something that is only planned in two years' time. So in specific terms, this means that political negotiations will probably extend beyond the current EU term of office, and thus, the conclusion date is something that is difficult to ascertain.
It's important to conduct that kind of discussion with the accurate balance between sustainability targets on the one hand, and competitive law reflections on the other. Especially in order to make sure that unintended consequences to society can be prevented, and a targeted and very specific piece of legislation can emerge from it. Dear Mr. Martius, you asked for the perception or for rather the possibility to execute shareholders' rights, given the increasing use of brokers and derivatives. Answer: Group Deutsche Börse is very much in favor of addressing the strong fragmentation of more than two hundred trading and execution platforms in the European stock market segment. Beyond that, we are also going to be in favor of fair competition, and we'll continue to support transparent forms of trading without conflicts of interest.
Executing one's shareholders' rights, as you mentioned, however, is not connected to the way in which trading transactions are executed. Mr. Martius, another question of yours: the development of our competitors towards a software company. Answer: Traditionally, Group Deutsche Börse used to be a technology company, primarily developing software for in-house use. With the acquisition of SimCorp, this now has changed fundamentally. We are becoming a fully-fledged software vendor within our newly created segment, IMS, Investment Management Solutions. The final question asked by Mr. Martius: You made a remark on corporate governance of our subsidiaries and the potential influence of a change in our market capitalization. A large part of the success of Deutsche Börse is its integrated business model. We've got a corporate governance system in place that is adequate to our structure.
In keeping with our structure, efficiently managing our subsidiaries, and giving them the necessary entrepreneurial freedom. The commercial success of also Eurex confirm this. And with that, back to you, Martin. Thank you, Theodor. I give the floor right to Dr. Book for answering further questions. Thank you, Mr. Jetter. I'll cover more questions asked by Mr. Martius, and also would like to thank you, Mr. Martius, for your very interesting contribution. You covered quite a few topics that are also of interest to us and that drive us about, so to speak, and we're very happy to see that you're an interested customer of Eurex. Now, firstly, you mentioned weekly options to be introduced, also weekly options on the Deutsche Börse share. Eurex offers a large number of weekly options already.
Offering weekly options, however, depends on defined liquidity criteria for the standard options, which currently are not fulfilled by the Deutsche Börse option, and we obviously hope for that to change. Mr. Martius, your question on comparing ourselves to the U.S. market and our pricing in the international context. Our business policy states that for the most important derivatives, we acquire a large number of market makers, and to do that, we offer comprehensive programs for market makers. The market structures in the U.S. and Europe, however, differ vastly and therefore not easily comparable. We continuously optimize our pricing model as part of the standard across markets and industries. And finally, Mr. Martius, your question regarding the introduction of new products in connection with the STOXX 600 family.
We work hand in hand with our customers regarding the launch of new ETF products and also with the colleagues from stocks. We ourselves do not issue any ETFs. That is the job of our customers and their perception of demand in the market. In the segments of Eurex index derivatives, we already have a comprehensive range of offers in connection with the STOXX 600 family. At present, we have options and futures on the STOXX Europe 600 and the ESG version of it. We plan to enhance the attractiveness of the STOXX Europe 600 segment by offering additional products, and thank you very much for your input on this. With that, I hand back to the chairman. Thank you very much, Dr. Buk. We have now received another request for the floor.
Walter Martius has requested the floor again, and may we ask you to use the pop-up window in the online service and to please enter the virtual waiting room? And please confirm the pop-up window by clicking on it. As already announced, we shall now again suspend the AGM for six minutes in order to make the necessary technical preparations.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thus interrupt this AGM for about six minutes, so the AGM will be continued at 13:42.
[Foreign language]
Ladies and gentlemen, we continue the annual general meeting, and let me ask Mr. Walter Martius-
[Foreign language]
To speak. Mr. Martius, I can see you. That's great.
[Foreign language]
Well, first of all, thank you very much for the very open-minded answers to your questions, even though you didn't quite get all the details. So I have two more questions. One of the most strongly growing regions or countries is India.
[Foreign language]
My question is: Are you represented in India? If so, is there a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG in India?
[Foreign language]
Is it stock listed, as would be the case for many international corporations? My second follow-up question is on cloud, the cloud business. You mentioned some of it in passing. Are you doing this together or are they using third parties, such as IBM, Highwolf, Kyndryl Holdings, KD being its stock exchange acronym? I'm very happy that you're using employee shares as an instrument. Could I ask you to clarify how you use it? I hope that you're not giving it away for free, just like Vonovia, with its thousands of shareholders.
When-
What I always like to see-
[Foreign language]
Is when it's done properly.
[Foreign language]
In your company, if they were granted a discount of 20% or 30%, I would see that as quite good. And when I started at IBM, there was a rebate or discount of 10% until midnight. That was great customer retention as a policy. Given the very good financial year, unless the ratio of participation isn't too high, I have another request to the CEO, who's leaving us after seven years.
[Foreign language]
Please think about it. You would retain employees in the best possible way by giving away a share for free. If you have $14,500, it's $2.61 million.
[Foreign language]
I'm convinced that our earnings would, in future, be even better as a consequence. The attendance record is something of a disappointment to me. Only one of the larger shareholders, MFS, a great fund operator in the U.S., is a company I didn't see in the attendance record. It's not possible that such a great company, excellent fund operator, doesn't represent its votes at this AGM. Thank you.
[Foreign language]
Thank you very much, Mr. Martius, for your follow-up remarks.
[Foreign language]
We will now continue with the answers.
[Foreign language]
We have some unanswered questions as well, and that's why I'd like to hand over to you, Stephan, for the next round of answers. And then we'll come back to your questions, Mr. Martius. Stephan. Vielen Dank.
Thank you, Martin. I'd like to come back to the questions by Mr. Schiewe. There are three categories, as I see it. The first part was about specific recommendations that you mentioned. Thank you very much, Mr. Schiewe, for raising these questions, whether ISS will recommend to vote for countermotions that change... require a change of strategy in the company. That's a good example, that when we acquired a majority shareholding in ISS, where as part of ISS STOXX in 2020 and 2021, we made clear in that context that the ISS data research organization will continue to work with the same independence.
A very high degree of independence within Deutsche Börse Group is how it works accordingly. For a long time, the highest ethical and transparency standards are what ISS is committed to, and Deutsche Börse commits to non-interference time and again. You also pointed out that the detailed publications made this very transparent. Independent research and as a basis of recommendations, is a very important asset from our point of view, and as a consequence, we will make no statements on any, on the impact of any recommendations by ISS in the future. Another specific example you gave was the rejection of the climate motion, the Shell case. Again, I'd like to refer fully to what I've just explained. The recommendations by ISS are based on the various voting policies, but they are developed in a completely independent way.
The statements as to the business context apply. In the same category, you raised a number of questions with respect to the ESG corporate ratings and the inclusion of plastics. For example, you asked whether there were any attempts that corporate greenhouse gas emissions that are emitted in the course of plastics production are reflected or integrated in the ISS ESG code, or whether there's any plan to that effect. I'd like to answer that these subject-related aspects are down to the independence of ISS's research. It's a matter of their independence. That is, clearly, when ISS continues to develop its ESG corporate ratings, it's in constant exchange with market participants. The quality and the dynamics of that development, when you look at biodiversity last year, that approach became very clear.
In conclusion, the specific questions on the development of the rat-ratings methodology of ISS is something where I cannot answer on behalf of Deutsche Börse at our AGM. The second category of your questions related to the position of Deutsche Börse and what it shows on the websites, both for the parent and subsidiaries, to the extent there are ratings. Let me again say that from day one, after the takeover of ISS, or the 80% stake, this is something that we discussed very actively, this question of independence and freedom, especially when it comes to how it describes the parent company, that that independence has to be assured 100%. Thank you, certainly, for pointing this out. As a concern, independent ratings of Deutsche Börse group, we will certainly follow up on this when talking to ISS.
You also asked questions relating to transparency and the independence of the methodology of ISS. Two things specifically: a complete list of primary sources in the ESG corporate rating, asking us to publish that list. In the ESG research, ISS uses a number of data sources, and you mentioned a very specific number. Under the policies, these sources and use of sources is described in a very transparent way. There are no plans, to our knowledge, to publish a full list of sources. In the same sense, you asked about potential publication in the public areas with respect to the separate ratings, E, S, and G, and not only the entire corporate ESG rating. Again, to our knowledge, there are no such plans at the moment. I hope that answers the main questions you had, and I'd like to hand back to Martin.
Thank you, Stephan. I'd like to point out briefly that quite soon we'll conclude in answering your questions, so we're expecting to wind up soon. If you have any more questions or would like to speak, now is the time to register in the online question. Should there be no more requests to speak, I will close the general debate after reading out the final answers. Now, I'd like to hand over to you, Theodor, to answer another question.
Thank you very much, Mr. Martius, for your question, where you asked about India. Clearly, India is a very interesting market, strongly driven by retail investing, and you know that our company has a strong B2B focus, working with institutional investors, that is.
In the past few years, we looked at retail in a strategic vein, looking at retail through the Trade gate, so to speak, but currently, B2B is our focus. Saying the retail market is interesting, we're constantly observing it. My second remark would be this: we don't think that a geography-driven strategy would be good. No, we're asset class-driven, seeking growth in asset classes, whether it's data, software-driven, etc., and that is then something that we try to roll out globally across different geographies and working in the respective markets on that basis. We have subsidiaries of subsidiaries, as Deutsche Börse in India. 360T subsidiary, ISS, and Sim Corp have such sub-subsidiaries, if you want, but none of them are stock listed at the moment. With that, back to you, Martin.
Thank you very much for answering that question.
I'd now like to suspend the meeting for another few minutes, because we are still working on some of the answers. So we'll be back in five minutes. At two o'clock, we'll resume the meeting. Meine sehr verehrten Damen und Herren, ich setze die Hauptversammlung fort. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll continue with the AGM, and since the next speaker has been onboarded, so to speak, Mr. Schmidt. Let me hand over to Hendrik Schmidt from DWS Investment for additional questions. Mr. Schmidt, over to you.
[Foreign language]
Thank you very much, Mr. Jetter, and let me thank all members of both boards for the answers given so far. Thank you very much. This was extensive, and this shows that this kind of dialogue is possible and sustained in your case. Please allow me one follow-up question when it comes to the peer group comparison. I asked you to name the ten most important competitors of Deutsche Börse and answering the question whether they were incorporated into the comparison index. In other words, whether they were part of the STOXX 600 comparison or benchmark index. I'd like to ask you to simply show us the peer group in greater detail. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Schmidt. We'll clarify that, and we'll come back to you.
There are some other answers yet to be given, and I'd like to hand over to Christoph Böhm to answer the questions relevant for his remit. Over to you.
Thank you, Mr. Jetter. Mr. Martius, your question about the cloud business and whether we're using third party. You mentioned Kyndryl Holding and whether we're using them, for example. Deutsche Börse Group has been successfully operating a hybrid multi-cloud strategy for a number of years, relying on close collaboration with strategic partners, of course, and cloud infrastructure vendors are one category of partners, data center capacity that they make available, and cloud software vendors, contracting services that are made available for our users in the cloud. So that's the distinction we make. In this, we are benefiting from both the flexibility and the ability to combine things.
Complementary offers under strategic partnerships is something we intend to use to achieve the ideal combination. In short, yes, of course, we are working with market-leading global partners. With that, back to the chairman, Mr. Jetter.
Thank you, Dr. Böhm. Let's move on straight away. Gregor Potschwadek for the next question or answer.
Thank you. The question by Mr. Martius, the participation of certain key investors at today's AGM. Many shareholders, especially international, non-German institutional investors, use proxies in order to participate in AGMs. Please understand that we cannot give you information on single shareholders, but 74% being the attendance count means that you can be confident that many international large investors are participating today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Potschwadek, for your answer. Ms. Eckert is now going to answer the next question.
Thank you, Mr. Jetter.
Martius, you asked about the employee share program and potential discounts and terms. The employee involvement program means that a discount of up to 40% is applied when they acquire a share, a 40% discount for the first fifty shares, and a 10% discount for up to another fifty shares, employee shares, that is. With that, back to the chairman.
Thank you, Ms. Eckert. I announce another short interruption of the annual general meeting. We'll be back in about five minutes for more answers at 14:09. Thank you. I call the annual general meeting to order, ladies and gentlemen. The question that you asked, Mr. Schmidt, that is a question that I'll be happy to answer. You asked about the main competitors and the relevance of the peer group used for the remuneration system.
As we explained, the peer group reflects our very diversified business areas and business model in terms of substance, regional aspects, and other parameters, such as regulation. It's the best possible fit. But not all our competitors are stock listed. UBS, UniCredit, and insurance companies such as Allianz and Munich Re are part of the peer group. The peer group and the remuneration system will be reviewed when it comes to the 2025 AGM approval. We'll look at that aspect again, which I committed to before. In the next round, after summer, when talking to the investors, we will also continue this debate, this dialogue. I hope that answered your question. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not see any further requests to speak. Should you request to speak, I'd like to ask you to register now using the button in the online service.
Please also speak up if you haven't received full answers. If there are no more requests to speak that are registered through the online service, I will close the general debate. The online function for submitting requests to speak is now deactivated, and we will now turn to the vote on agenda items. This is not the case, so thank you very much. I state for the record that all questions have been answered, and there are no more requests for the floor. I hereby close the general debate on agenda items one through eleven. The online function for submitting requests to speak is now deactivated. Ladies and gentlemen, let's now proceed to the vote. Please note that from now on, submitting or modifying instructions to the two company-appointed proxies will only be possible for a few minutes, probably around three minutes.
After reading out the agenda items, I'll have the relevant function in the online service deactivated. I would therefore ask you to finalize your instructions to the company-appointed proxy now. Submitting or modifying postal ballots will only be possible until the end of the vote. The voting result will be determined using the so-called addition procedure, meaning that we're only going to count the yes and no votes. Any abstentions will not be counted and disregarded. We're now going to vote on agenda items two through eleven. The resolutions proposed under the various agenda items were published in the Federal Gazette, along with the notice of meeting. Furthermore, they are available for inspection on the company's website.
Concerning the resolution proposed under agenda item two, I had already pointed out at the beginning that it had been necessary to amend the number of shares carrying dividend rights. Hence, the meeting is going to vote on the amended proposal, as published this morning and as available on the company's website. With your permission, I will take this resolution and all the other proposed resolutions as read. I'll confine myself to calling the individual agenda items. Agenda item two concerns the appropriation of unappropriated surplus. Agenda item three, under it, the meeting is going to vote on the ratification of the acts of all the members of the executive board in one go. Under agenda item four, the meeting is going to vote on the ratification of the acts of all the members of the supervisory board, again, in one go.
With regard to agenda items three and four, I'd like to remind everyone that pursuant to Section 136 of the German Stock Corporation Act, board members are not entitled to vote on the ratification of their own acts. The members of both boards have submitted the necessary declarations for agenda items three and four, respectively. We can thus ensure that the members of the Executive Board and of the Supervisory Board will not take part in the vote on agenda items three and four. Under agenda item five, the meeting is going to vote on canceling contingent capital 2019, and on granting a new authorization to issue convertible warrant-linked bonds, convertible bonds/warrant-linked bonds, on the exclusion of subscription rights, and the creation of new contingent capital and related amendments to the articles of incorporation.
Under agenda item six, the meeting is going to vote on the granting of a new authorization to acquire and use treasury shares in accordance with Section 71, paragraph one, number eight of the Stock Corporation Act, and to exclude subscription rights and rights of tender. Under item seven, the meeting is going to vote on the authorization to use derivatives to acquire treasury shares in accordance with Section 71, one, number eight of the Stock Corporation Act, and to exclude subscription rights and rights of tender. Item eight is on the resolution of the election of the members of the Supervisory Board. Item nine is the resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Supervisory Board and related amendments to the articles of incorporation relating to the amount of remuneration. Under agenda item ten, the meeting is going to vote on the approval of the remuneration report.
Agenda item eleven is a resolution on the election of the auditor and group auditor for fiscal 2024, and the auditor for the review of the condensed financial statements and the interim management report for the first half of the 2024 financial year, as well as the auditor for the sustainability report for the financial year 2024. Shareholders, as announced before, the online function for submitting or modifying votes or instructions to the two company-appointed proxies will be deactivated now. The two company-appointed proxies are voting on your behalf, even as we speak. The votes cast on your behalf will be entered into the counting system and processed electronically to determine the result of the vote. I declare the voting process closed. From now on, it will no longer be possible to submit or modify postal ballots either.
The online postal ballot function has been deactivated as well. Any postal ballots submitted in time will also be entered into the counting system and processed electronically to determine the result of the vote. The votes will be counted now under this notary's supervision. In doing so, we're going to ensure that all duly submitted votes and instructions have, in fact, been included in the voting result, irrespective of the channel through which they were submitted. I now suspend this AGM until the voting results are available. The AGM and the webcast will resume in a few minutes. At 2:30, at the latest, we'll be back. Thank you.
[Foreign language]
Ladies and gentlemen, I call the meeting back to order. I now have the results of the votes on agenda items two through eleven.
[Foreign language]
The results will be displayed in detail.
[Foreign language]
on your screens. I'm going to refer to these figures later on when announcing the result of the vote.
[Foreign language] -
When reading out the results, I'm only going to state whether or not the required majority has been achieved.
[Foreign language]
The full voting results will also be available on the company's website after this AGM.
[Foreign language]
I shall pass on a detailed version of the voting results, including the information required by Section 130, subsection 2, sentence 2, of the German Stock Corporation Act, to our notary, Dr. Schmidt, for inclusion in the minutes.
[Foreign language]
Let me point out that we will have reached the end of today's AGM, and that I'm going to close the meeting immediately after the voting results have been announced. Up to this point, you still have the possibility to launch objections against the resolutions before the meeting, should you deem that necessary. In other words, you will no longer have this possibility once I close the meeting. With that, let me announce the result of the vote.
[Foreign language]
For the record, the voting results for agenda items two to eleven are as follows:
[Foreign language]
This AGM has just voted on the resolutions proposed by the executive and supervisory boards or, under items eight and eleven, by the supervisory board only, as published in the Federal Gazette on the 25th of March, 2024. Under item two, the resolution on the appropriation of unappropriated surplus was carried with the required majority.
[Foreign language]
Under item three, the resolution on the ratification of the acts of the members of the Executive Board was carried with the required majority. Under item four, the resolution on ratification of the acts of the members of the Supervisory Board was carried with the required majority. Under item five, resolution on canceling contingent capital 2019, and on granting a new authorization to issue convertible/warrant-linked bonds, to exclude subscription rights and to create new contingent capital, and on making the corresponding amendments to the articles of incorporation. Again, that resolution was carried with the required majority and with the required majority of the share capital represented at the time of the vote.
Item six: resolution on the grant of a new authorization to acquire and use treasury shares in accordance with Section 71, 1, number 8 of the German Stock Corporation Act, and to exclude subscription rights and rights of tender. That resolution was also carried with the required majority and with the required majority of the share capital represented at the time of the vote. Item seven: resolution on the authorization to use derivatives to acquire treasury shares in accordance with Section 71, 1, number 8, of the Aktiengesetz and to exclude subscription rights and rights of tender. The resolution was carried with the required majority and with the required majority of the nominal capital represented at the time of the vote. Item eight A: resolution on the election of members to the Supervisory Board. Dr. Andreas Gottschling was elected with the required majority of votes.
Item 8B: Election of Martin Jetter. The resolution is carried with the required majority. 8C: Resolution on the election of members of the Supervisory Board. Shannon Johnston was elected with the required majority. 8D: Sigrid Kozmiensky was elected with the required majority of votes. 8E: Resolution on the election of members of the Supervisory Board. Barbara Lambert was elected with the required majority of votes. 8F: Charles Stonehill was elected with the required majority of votes. 8G: Clara- Christina Streit was elected with the required majority of votes. 8H: Chong Lee Tan was elected with the required majority of votes. Item 9: Resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Supervisory Board and amendments to the articles of incorporation relating to the amount of remuneration.
This resolution was carried with the required majority of votes and with the required majority of the share capital represented at the time of the vote. Item 10: Resolution on the approval of the remuneration report. This resolution was carried with the required majority of votes. Item 11A: Resolution on the election of the auditor and the group auditor for the 2024 financial year, as well as the auditor for the review of the condensed financial statements and the interim management report for the first half of the 2024 financial year. Election of the auditor for the sustainability report for the 2024 financial year. This resolution was also carried with the required majority of votes.
Eleven B: Resolution on the election of the auditor and group auditor for the 2024 financial year, as well as the auditor for the review of the condensed financial statements and the interim management report for the first half of the financial year 2024. Election of the auditor for the sustainability report for the 2024 financial year, auditor of the sustainability report and group sustainability report. Again, that resolution was carried with the required majority of votes. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the business of the meeting. I'm going to close the meeting in a minute. I'd like to thank all those involved in the organization and smooth running of this AGM. I'd like to say a particular word of thanks to you, our shareholders, shareholder representatives, for having trust in Deutsche Börse, for following the AGM webcast, and for your questions and contributions.
I'd like to thank you most sincerely for both the critical and the encouraging questions you have asked. Your many contributions have shown how important it is for us to engage in this dialogue with you. And with that, the meeting is closed. All the best to you, and see you next year. Thank you. Goodbye.