Online trading company Swissquote has introduced the Market Monopoly index targeting trading opportunities in monopolistic and oligopolistic markets.

Monopolistic and oligopolistic market structures occur when a single dominant firm or a small group of powerful companies controlling the market. The competition is extremely limited due to high entry barriers, economies of scale and regulatory constraints.

A great example of this is the aviation sector– some nations have one airline, others have a small number that seem to flex their price-setting power whenever they feel like it. In Switzerland, you can fly SWISS, Edelweiss, Helvetic Airways and EasyJet Switzerland, while in Greenland, you’ll be buckling into the nation’s only carrier – the not-very-imaginatively-named Air Greenland.

Monopolies and oligopolies matter because their market dominance enables price and distribution control, and gives them the ability to shape consumer behaviour and influence industry dynamics.

Companies operating within these environments have business models that are built to endure and adapt while they go about their day-to-day – that is, dominating global industries with scale and pricing power.

Operating in markets where there’s limited competition provides room for steady and predictable revenues, healthy profit margins, and resilience across different economic cycles, which means stronger profitability in recoveries.

Swissquote’s Market Monopoly index selects sector leaders operating in monopolistic conditions or as part of a fiercely competitive group and leverages the structural advantages of these concentrated industries. The aim of this theme is to deliver long-term value through companies that have the ability to control the rules of the game.