DWS will make its long-awaited crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) debut, expand its target maturity bond range and look to become a dominant force in retail ETF adoption after topping the ETF Issuer Power Rankings 2023, according to the firm’s global head of Xtrackers sales Simon Klein.
Klein (pictured) told ETF Stream the firm enjoyed a record 12 months of asset gathering last year, with a 14% share of European ETP flows, punching above the issuer’s market share and claiming an even greater share of fixed income inflows, in what was the asset class’s strongest year of asset gathering on record.
Notable highlights included a considerable $5.1bn flowing into the long-standing Xtrackers EUR Overnight Rate Swap UCITS ETF (XEON) and a total of 46 new ETP launches – the highest of any issuer – including the introduction of its target maturity fixed income ETFs.
Klein also attributed the firm’s success to the increased uptake of its ETFs by the growing retail investor audience, owing to new collaborations and the roll-out of the firm’s digital distribution team.
“Our success was also driven by the continued diversification of our client base, especially towards retail investors through digital channels such as online brokers and neo-brokers,” he said.
“We want to elevate our Xtrackers brand even further, step more into retail channels and be more dominant with bespoke content alongside our partners.
“So far, we have an 80-20 split between institutional and retail investors and we expect this to move towards 60-40, with retail investors playing a more significant part in ETFs going forward.”
On the product pipeline, he indicated investors can expect updates on the firm’s crypto ETP entry within the coming weeks.
“You can expect more launches this year including innovation with our partner, Galaxy. We are planning to launch bitcoin and ethereum ETPs this year, so in the next couple of weeks, you will hear more about that,” Klein continued.
There will also be further development in conventional assets, with more targeted exposures within equities and fixed income.
“Looking at the range, target date maturity is an area we stepped into last year so we will continue to launch more products in that area,” Klein continued.
“There will be more exposures coming on the equity side. The US equity asset class is pretty dominant within global equities so having products stripping that exposure out would be an area we are looking into.”
