ETFs: Defense ETFs continue to fall

Outflows from defense ETFs continue, but AI and tech ETFs in general remain as popular as ever. Mining ETFs and precious metal ETCs are also performing well. The Bitcoin crash is not causing any major waves in crypto ETN trading. 

2 December 2025. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse).The potential AI bubble does not appear to be an issue on the ETF market. Frank Mohr of Société Générale reports a clear buying surplus – including in technology trackers. This mainly concerns global and US stocks. “Together, they account for around 70 percent of our sales,” reports Mohr. European and emerging market stocks are not playing a major role at present. Beyond MSCI World, S&P 500, and Nasdaq, defense stocks, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies are important. “Defense ETFs and precious metal ETCs in particular are generating high sales for us,” explains Ivo Orlemann from ICF Bank.

Mohr sees “very strong buying” in the major indices, for example for the SPDR S&P 500 (IE000XZSV718), the UBS Core MSCI World (IE00BD4TXV59) and the Vanguard FTSE All-World (IE00BK5BQT80). Leveraged Nasdaq ETNs (IE00BLRPRL42, IE00BLRPRJ20) remain strong sellers among Lang & Schwarz's trading-savvy clientele, as Michael Norizin explains. According to Mohr, there has been some profit-taking in emerging market ETFs, such as the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (IE00B0M63177). Although it has fallen from its highs, it is still up 16 percent since the beginning of the year.

Defense tracker: still up 42 percent

Due to the negotiations on peace in Ukraine, defense ETFs remain on the sell lists, according to Orlemann, particularly VanEck Defense (IE000YYE6WK5) and WisdomTree Europe Defense (IE0002Y8CX98). According to Norizin von Lang & Schwarz, the VanEck product is usually the first to be removed from portfolios. VanEck Defense, the largest defense ETF, has lost around 14 percent of its value since its high in October. However, it is still up 42 percent since the beginning of the year.

According to Mohr, tech trackers remain the top sellers in industry ETF trading and are clearly in demand, despite concerns about an AI bubble.  Popular examples include Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence & Big Data (IE00BGV5VN51), iShares S&P 500 Information Technology Sector (IE00B3WJKG14) and iShares Digital Security (IE00BG0J4C88). Norizin reports very high sales for VanEck Crypto and Blockchain Innovators (IE00BMDKNW35).