Investors fled an ETF tracking Germany’s blue-chip index, the DAX, last week amid concerns the country is on the brink of a recession.
According to data from Ultumus, the Deka DAX UCITS ETF (ETFDAX) suffered $99m outflows in the week to 23 August taking its total assets under management (AUM) to $1.9bn.
Investor sentiment was impacted after Germany’s central bank last week warned Europe’s largest economy could fall into a recession in Q3.
The Bundesbank said the economy remained “lacklustre” following its 0.1% decline in the three months to June.
Furthermore, the ifo Institutes’ monthly confidence index, a measure of business confidence, fell to 94.3 points in August, its weakest reading since November 2012.
The Bundesbank commented: “Future developments will hinge on how long the present economic dichotomy lasts and which direction it takes once it dissolves.
“As things currently stand, it is unclear whether exports and, by extension, industry will regain their footing before the domestic economy becomes more severely affected.”
Investing in Germany using DAX – an Asian perspective
In response to the bloc’s slowing growth, the European Central Bank has signalled plans to reduce interest rates which should aid Germany.
Meanwhile, Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, said the firm had witnessed an increase in gold purchases from German investors.
“BullionVault’s new German customers tell us that owning physical bullion outside their government’s jurisdiction is a big appeal.”
