Deutsche Börse's Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) segment continued its growth trajectory last year, reaching a new all-time high with assets under management of €1.83 trillion (+33.9 per cent; December 2023: €1.36 trillion). At the same time, the trading volume in ETFs and ETPs on Xetra rose significantly by 28 per cent to €230.8 billion (2023: €180.4 billion). Trading in non-euro currencies achieved a particularly high growth rate of 82.9 per cent to 1.81 billion euros (2023: 989 million euros). In total, Deutsche Börse now offers 180 ETFs and ETPs in other trading currencies such as the US dollar and British pound.

The positive development on the trading side is also reflected in the continuing high interest of European ETF issuers in launching new products: With 281 new ETF listings, Deutsche Börse recorded the highest listing activity since the launch of the ETF segment in 2000. At the end of the year, the product range on Xetra stood at 2,328 ETFs (2023: 2,125 ETFs) and 446 ETPs (2023: 424 ETPs). Xetra was thus once again the largest exchange trading venue for ETFs and ETPs in Europe.

Actively managed ETFs are establishing themselves in the European market

Among the particular growth drivers of the past year were once again active ETFs, which achieved new record highs across all key figures. In 2024, 78 new products were added, bringing the total number of active ETFs tradable on Xetra to 197 (2023: 119 active ETFs). Assets invested in active ETFs reached €44.2 billion at the end of the year, almost twice as high as in the previous year (December 2023: €22.4 billion). In terms of trading volume, the products generated an annual turnover of €2.76 billion, an increase of 127 per cent compared to the previous year (2023: €1.22 billion). The number of issuers has also increased: four new providers for actively managed ETFs have joined the segment in 2024. This means that 22 issuers now offer active ETFs on Xetra.

"Active ETFs are an emerging category in the ETF product universe that enjoys great popularity on both the provider and investor side. Investors benefit not only from innovative investment concepts, but also from the low management fees of the products”, says Stephan Kraus, Head of the ETF & ETP segment at Deutsche Börse. The average management fee of index ETFs on Xetra was 0.27 per cent at the end of the year, while that of active ETFs was 0.36 per cent.

Thematic ETFs on artificial intelligence, semiconductor industry and defence sector in investor focus

Spurred on by the growth potential of generative AI applications and the resulting demand for semiconductors, thematic ETFs in this sector recorded particularly high demand on Xetra. Accordingly, the invested assets of these ETFs increased by 95.1 per cent year-on-year to €10.7 billion (2023: €5.5 billion) and the trading volume by 177.2 per cent to €4.55 billion (2023: €1.64 billion). ETFs related to defence achieved even higher growth rates. After the first defence ETFs were listed on Xetra in 2023, their assets under management reached €2.17 billion (+1,652 per cent; 2023: €123.9 million) at the end of the year, with a trading turnover of €1.04 billion (+1,263 per cent; 2023: €76.1 million).

Overnight rate ETFs are becoming an alternative to call money accounts

In the bond ETF space, so-called overnight rate ETFs were able to continue their success story. Overnight rate ETFs aim for a return that is based on the key interest rates of a currency area. Therefore, they are increasingly being used by investors as an alternative to traditional call money accounts. This is also illustrated by the increase in fund assets and the trading turnover of the products on Xetra. Both key figures achieved triple-digit growth rates last year, with fund assets at €19.2 billion (+188.8 per cent; 2023: €6.64 billion) and trading turnover at €6.57 billion (+149.1 per cent; 2023: €2.64 billion) at the end of the year.

Crypto ETNs benefit from crypto market pick-up

The approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US market in early 2024 also led to a revival of the crypto exchange-traded note (ETN) market in Europe. With a Xetra full-year turnover of €10.3 billion, the products recorded a particularly high year-on-year increase of 239.2 per cent (2023: €3.05 billion). In the same period, assets under management increased significantly by 115.3 per cent to 11.4 billion euros (2023: 5.31 billion euros). At the end of the year, the range of crypto ETNs on Xetra comprised 93 products, which tracked the performance of 21 individual cryptocurrencies and 21 crypto indices. All crypto ETNs tradable on Xetra are physically backed by the underlying crypto assets. As the largest European trading venue for crypto ETNs, Xetra also offers central clearing of all traded products, which is unique in Europe given the breadth of cryptocurrencies offered.

Further facts and figures can be found in the ETF statistics 2024.

Media contact:
Andreas von Brevern
+49 (0)69 2 11-1 42 84
media-relations@deutsche-boerse.com

Carola Dürer
+49 (0)69 2 11-1 47 39
media-relations@deutsche-boerse.com