Accomodative monetary policies through Asia and Europe have increased the allure of single-country ex-Japan currency hedged ETFs this year. For example, a recent, surprise interest rate cut by the Bank of Korea triggered staggering asset growth in the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEArca: DBKO).
At the end of 2014, DBKO was a $5 million ETF. It now has nearly $201 million in assets. Currency hedged Germany ETFs have experienced similar growth trajectories thanks to the weak euro’s positive impact on the export-driven German economy.
With Germany’s DAX being the best developed market equity benchmark in the world this year, the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (NYSEArca: HEWG), Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: DBGR) and the WisdomTree Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NasdaqGM: DXGE) have gone from anonymous to beloved.
DXGE has more than tripled in size this year while DBGR has more than doubled in size, marking the second consecutive year the Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management offering has done so. Solid inflows to hedged Germany ETFs have continued this month, led by almost $248 million in assets flowing into HEWG. DBGR and DXGE have added a combined $177 million since March 1. HEWG is now home to over $1 billion in assets. [Hedged Germany ETFs See Big Inflows]
Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF
