Industry Updates

DWS slashes fees on gold and two bond ETFs after strong flows

XGDU now joint cheapest on the market at 0.12%

Theo Andrew

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DWS has cut fees on three exchange-traded products (ETPs) which have attracted a combined $2bn of inflows over the past 12 months.

The €2.5bn Xtrackers IE Physical Gold ETC Securities (XGDU) has seen its total expense ratio (TER) reduced from 0.15% to 0.12% after attracting roughly €2.1bn of inflows in the past year.

It means XGDU is now the joint cheapest gold ETC in the European market after a price war last year saw several issuers cut fees on their gold products.

Elsewhere, the Xtrackers II Eurozone Inflation-Linked Bonds UCITS ETF (XEIN) has seen its fees cut from 0.20% to 0.15%, while the Xtrackers II Harvest China Government Bond UCITS ETF (CGB) fees have been slashed from 0.35% to 0.20%.

Both XEIN and CGB have recorded strong inflows over the past 12 months, with the former taking in €225m compared to CGB’s €133m.

Increased inflation expectations and market uncertainty have helped drive flows into the gold and inflation-linked products, the group said.

The spot price for gold was pushed near record levels hit in August 2020 this week, breaking $2,000 an ounce on 8 March. Investors piled nearly $1bn into Gold ETCs in the first week of March with demand continuing into this week.

According to DWS, demand for CGB has grown over the past year due to a yield to maturity of 2.9% making it an attractive alternative to US and European government bond markets.

Michael Mohr, head of passive products at DWS, said: “We are increasing the attractiveness of these bond ETFs and gold ETC at a time when investors are using these exposures for portfolio adjustments amidst volatility rises.”

Earlier this month, DWS became the latest issuer to launch two Paris-aligned climate ESG ETFs, The Xtrackers EMU Net Zero Pathway Paris Aligned UCITS ETF (XNZE) and the Xtrackers World Net Zero Pathway Paris Aligned UCITS ETF (XNZW).

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