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In its early days, the new index traded as “DAI”. But its founding fathers found this unsuitable in the long run. “That sounded too Japanese,” recalled Manfred Zass, who held leading positions at Deutsche Börse for a long time and later headed Dekabank. In addition, “this somewhat wooden term” lacked “charm and symbolic power” in the emerging digital age. “Bulle, Bär and Ibis already existed, so I didn’t take the first but the last letter from Index,” said Zass. The name “Dax” was born.