Streubesitz

Streubesitz, or free float, refers to the portion of a company’s issued shares that are publicly traded and readily available for purchase and sale by general investors on the open market. It excludes shares held by insiders such as founders and executives, strategic investors, institutions with restricted shares, governments, and treasury shares.

Measured as a percentage of total issued shares outstanding, Streubesitz can be affected by lock-up agreements, employee stock plans, and treasury holdings. It is distinct from ownership by controlling shareholders and is intended to reflect how much stock is actually tradable in the market.

In practice, Streubesitz is a key input for assessing liquidity and market capitalization used by index providers and traders. Many stock indexes use a free float-adjusted market capitalization (FFMC) methodology, which weights companies by the portion of shares that is freely tradable. Requirements for minimum free float vary by index and jurisdiction, and are used to determine eligibility for inclusion in certain benchmarks.

A higher Streubesitz generally improves liquidity and reduces price impact of large trades, while a low free float can lead to higher volatility and sensitivity to large holders’ trading. The concept is widely used in German-speaking financial markets and is commonly translated as free float.