The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has launched an Exchange Manifesto that sets out the “unique and irreplaceable” role of exchanges and clearing houses in the economy and urges governments, policymakers and regulators to recognise the strengths of public markets, promote their benefits and incentivise their use. The Manifesto codifies ten core contributions exchanges make to the countries they serve, positioning organised markets as an enabler of growth, financial inclusion and system-wide stability. The ten pillars span household and corporate finance and market integrity, including: providing a pathway to financial security through inflation-beating equity investment alongside complementary products such as fixed income; helping companies of all sizes, including small and medium-sized enterprises, to prosper through listings that support future funding, hiring and marketing; signalling national economic health and supporting GDP-linked growth; indirectly contributing to tax revenues and supporting a value-added financial services sector; channelling capital at scale into strategic and emerging sectors such as defence, medicine, digitalisation and artificial intelligence; providing a foundation and credibility “halo effect” for other financial markets; attracting international investment through the profile and integrity of organised markets; underpinning insurers’ investment needs and asset-price risk management; promoting public engagement via access to markets and data; and supporting resilience by enabling funding and investment without credit crunches. The WFE also points readers to the full Manifesto paper and argues that a continued decline in public markets would risk losing what it characterises as a transparent, resilient and inclusive form of finance.

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