News Round-up: DWS accelerates ETF push through retail platforms
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DWS is ramping up efforts to grow its Xtrackers ETF business by targeting the fast-growing retail market in Europe, especially through partnerships with neo-brokers offering low-cost savings plans. With retail interest in ETFs rising sharply - particularly in Germany - DWS is adjusting its strategy by hiring more marketing and sales staff, launching new active ETFs and cutting fees on core products including its $20bn MSCI world ETF. The German asset manager is also eyeing expansion into Eastern Europe and the Baltics to regain momentum after a dip in ETF inflows. Chris Flood has the full story.
The rise of passive investing - where investors simply track broad market indices - has led to concerns that markets could become distorted if too many people follow this strategy. Some have argued that at a certain scale, passive investing weakens price discovery, increases market concentration and raises the risk of synchronised sell-offs. However, others claim that as long as active investors with sufficient capital remain, markets can still function efficiently - even with dominant passive ownership - though the precise tipping point remains hotly debated and above all uncertain. Read the full story here.
Finally, flows into global equity ETFs overtook S&P 500 ETFs in the first half of 2025, as investors sought diversification amid political uncertainty in the US following Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’. European equity ETFs surged in popularity thanks to supportive policy and investor rotation away from US markets, while ESG ETFs – which were recently rebranded as ‘Scored and Screened’ - faced sharp outflows amid scepticism over the relabelling. Lauren Gibbons has the full story.
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