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02/09/25 13:53:51

ETFs: „Es herrscht Zurückhaltung“

The momentum on the stock market has evaporated, and the DAX is weakening. On the other hand, there is a new record high for the price of gold. However, inflows into equity ETFs still dominate. Defense and banking ETFs are particularly popular.


2 September 2025. FRANKFURT (Börse Frankfurt). Purchases still predominate in ETF trading, but there is no sign of euphoria. “With slightly higher turnover, we had only slightly more purchases than sales this time,” reports Holger Heinrich of Baader Bank. “There is a mood of caution,” says Andreas Schröer of Lang & Schwarz, describing the situation. There is not much activity in traditional equity ETFs at the moment. However, he sees good turnover in defense ETFs, gold ETCs, and crypto ETNs. 
The DAX has slipped back below the 24,000-point mark, standing at 23,800 points on Tuesday afternoon. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closed weaker on Friday before the long weekend, but are not far from their all-time highs.

Indices fluctuate, with both purchases and sales

Therefore, US and global equities continue to be a major focus. According to Heinrich, the UBS Core MSCI USA (IE00BD4TYG73) and Invesco's Nasdaq tracker (IE00BYVTMS52) are in demand in the US sector. On the other hand, the Amundi MSCI USA Ex Mega Cap (IE000XL4IXU1) is being sold. It tracks the MSCI USA, but excludes the largest companies. Heinrich also sees inflows and outflows in global ETFs. The shopping lists include, for example, the iShares MSCI World Paris-Aligned Climate (IE00BMXC7W70), while the selling lists include the AXA IM MSCI World Equity PAB (IE000TT7HZ88). 
European equities are also trading with a slight buying surplus in both directions. Baader Bank's clients, for example, are betting on the Ossiam Stoxx Europe 600 ESG Equal Weight (LU0599613147), but are divesting themselves of the Deka Euro Stoxx Select Dividend 30 (DE000ETFL078). “At the individual country level, the UK is being bought more, while France is being sold more,” the trader adds.  
 

Greece still ahead

With a price increase of 46 percent, Greece still has the best stock market performance this year, according to figures from the ETF platform justETF. Vietnam, Spain, Austria, and Poland are also performing very well, with gains of 38 percent, 32 percent, another 32 percent, and 31 percent, respectively. The “flop countries” are Saudi Arabia with a loss of 17 percent, followed by Indonesia (minus 16 percent), Thailand and India with minus 12 percent, and Turkey with minus 11 percent. 

“Increased buying with Rheinmetall rise”

Another topic of discussion: defense stocks. “With the recent rise in Rheinmetall's share price, we are seeing increased buying,” explains Schröer. The Future of Defense (IE000OJ5TQP4) is particularly sought after. He also reports sustained high turnover for the WisdomTree Euro Stoxx Banks 3x Daily Leveraged ETN (IE00BLS09N40), which tracks the European banking index with 3x leverage. “This is a trading product and is sometimes bought, sometimes sold,” he explains.  
According to Heinrich, HANetf's Guinness Sustainable Energy (IE00BNC1F287) is in demand, an active ETF that tracks renewable energy companies from around the world. Also in demand: the Rize Sustainable Future of Food (IE00BLRPQH31). It focuses on innovative companies in the food industry that are “accelerating the transition to more sustainable food production systems and consumption patterns,” as RizeETF, now part of ARK Invest, writes. However, its price performance since its listing in September 2020 has been disappointing. 

iShares market leader

iShares surpassed the USD 5 trillion mark in assets under management worldwide in August, according to the issuer. “This milestone underscores the strong growth momentum and solidifies iShares' global leadership position,” it said. However, ETFs still only accounted for 6 percent of the global capital market, as Stephan Cohen, Chief Product Officer and Global Head of iShares, explains. He expects assets under management in ETFs worldwide to nearly double again over the next five years, from $15 trillion to $27 trillion.

Gold ETCs in high demand, crypto ETNs without trend

With the sharp rise in gold prices since mid-August, gold ETCs are in high demand. “Turnover is at a high level, mostly purchases,” explains Schröer, citing iShares Physical Gold (IE00B4ND3602) as an example. The price of gold reached a new record high early Tuesday morning.

There is also a lot of activity in crypto ETN trading. “It is noticeable that there is more interest in second-tier coins such as Solana and Cardano.” Bitcoin reached a new record high of $124,034 in mid-August and is now trading at $110,000. 

By Anna-Maria Borse, 2 September 2025, © Deutsche Börse AG

Anna-Maria Borse is a finance and economics editor specializing in financial markets/stock exchanges and economic issues.

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