It is not every day on the German capital market that the major shareholder of a listed company goes public with a bang in order to put the Management Board and Supervisory Board on the spot. But this is what happened at FlatgexDegiro when anchor shareholder Bernd Förtsch, who holds around 19% of the company through the „Gesellschaft für Börsenkommunikation“ as well as Heliad and his own portfolio, simply threw a stone in the water: He diagnosed operational and strategic deficiencies, would like to see more dynamism - and has already threatened CEO Frank Niehage and Supervisory Board Chairman Martin Korbmacher that there will be no discharge from his side at the Annual General Meeting.

Förtsch reiterated this statement when speaking with Börsen-Zeitung. He wants to replace Niehage and Korbmacher at the Annual General Meeting in June, as he had made suggestions for strategic development over the years, but had not been listened to. „FlatexDegiro needs fresh blood. We have some catching up to do on the product side when I see how the neobrokers are profiting from things like crypto trading or credit cards.“ He had already designed a credit card for Flatex, which Förtsch founded in 2006, ten years ago.

Since the interview, he has been approached by a number of institutional investors who have also invested in FlatexDegiro, and the dialog has shown that many shareholders share his view of things. „Compared to the peer group with stocks such as Swissquote, FlatexDegiro has a valuation discount of at least 30 to 40%. That cannot be permanent.“

The majority at the Annual General Meeting planned for the beginning of June is therefore likely to lean towards Förtsch. Last year, the shareholders (without his votes) had already given Niehage a lesson when 33% refused to approve his actions. Förtsch wants more momentum - and as quickly as possible. In any case, the Flatex share has gained around 12% in the past five days, that is, since Förtsch called for changes.

For Förtsch, the Frankfurt-based broker is a core investment - and is close to his heart. He has been struggling with the perception of the Frankfurt-based broker for some time - albeit a little more discreetly so far: last year, he said that there was some catching up to do in terms of awareness „especially when it comes to positioning the brand among investors“. He has two confidants on the Supervisory Board: Stefan Müller (Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board) and Herbert Seuling. Britta Lehfeld (former Deutsche Bank) and Aygül Özkan (ZIA) are the independent members of the board.