In the popular view, the stock exchange is still the symbol of capitalism: money unleashed, speculators gone wild, panicked investors.
In fact, the gradual loss of importance of these public marketplaces over the decades cannot be overlooked.
If the IPO was once an accolade, today it is viewed pragmatically in many companies.
Regardless of what you think about it, one reason is increased regulation over the decades - so what wonder when the position of the stock exchange in the first place in Europe crumbles and revives in the up-and-coming, dynamic emerging markets of Asia. This can be assessed in different ways: More freedom allows more movement - but also more abuse.
In the meantime, those who are more on the curb are reacting by evading: The mature market for private equity, in which more management consultants than financial sharks have long been active, is an increasingly important alternative.
But it is also investors who are turning their backs on the stock market.
The financial crisis of 2008 shook confidence for a long time and no investor needed the crash in prices during the corona crisis.
So you are looking for new, different ways to invest your money than on the stock exchange.
And because they are there, they are used, and because they are used, they arise.
This is the way the world goes: Dominance does not have an eternal claim.
Especially not for the stock market.