The firm was established in Frankfurt am Main in 1979 and is one of the few remaining traditional, family-run securities trading banks today.
Walter Ludwig, the founder of the firm, has been trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 1968. Over the years, he significantly contributed to the developments at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, first as a Deputy Floor Specialist and then as a Certified Official Floor Specialist.
An innovative and international orientation with firm roots in the Frankfurt banking community is the guiding principle behind the firm, which is steeped in tradition.
Walter Ludwig has regularly updated the firm’s services to meet the demands of his constantly growing client portfolio. When the company started handling the official listing of all options and warrants traded at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 1979, the market grew so rapidly that it became necessary to divide it up between three companies. At the request of other market participants, Walter Ludwig’s firm decided to do justice to its innovative and international alignment and take over the foreign bonds segment. In time, “Market Making” for shares also became part of the business model.
Meanwhile, the firm has specialised on bonds in general. In its capacity as an specialist, liquidity provider and “Market Maker”, it handles approximately 14,000 national and international bonds in various currencies.
Since the beginning of 2019, Walter Ludwig GmbH Wertpapierhandelsbank has been supporting a wide variety of companies in their respective financing via the capital market. In addition to the subscription box and the associated high reach of the FWB, the company can offer further exclusive options by means of various cooperations for a particularly large retail network.
To this day, the company is still managed by Walter Ludwig as Managing Partner. Dirk Schneider has been supporting him very successfully as Managing Director of the core business area of securities trading since 2014. In the summer of 2019, Marcel Ludwig also joined the Executive Management. As Managing Director, he is responsible for internal and external business development and thus continues the Ludwig family tradition.
The general philosophy of the firm is apparent in its day-to-day business activities. Its participation on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange combined with complex computer trading on various OTC platforms in the offices of the Walter Ludwig Wertpapierhandelsbank (Securities Trading Bank) at Hauptwache 5 in Frankfurt reflect the successful balancing act between a traditional securities firm and an innovative private bank. Over the years, the management of the firm has developed from classic securities trading at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to an internationally active “Market Maker” for the expanding retail market.
In future, the firm aims to continue to draw the right conclusions from the trends on the financial markets and take an innovative approach in the international trading environment. Due to its excellent trade network and privileged access to markets, the increasing digitalisation of the finance industry – with new trade platforms and wider access to all of the key international markets – is a growth catalyst for the Walter Ludwig Wertpapierhandelsbank (Securities Trading Bank).