The increased prominence of currency hedged exchange traded funds has been well-documented this year and few issuers are benefiting from that trend in a manner similar to that of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Man (Deutsche AWM), the ETF issuing business of Deutsche Bank.
Deutsche AWM said Monday US X-trackers platform surpassed $20 billion in assets under management and that the firm has improved its market share position to a top-10 ETF provider in the U.S.
With $20 billion in AUM “Deutsche X-trackers platform has increased by approximately 365% since year end, and continues to be among the fastest growing exchange-traded fund (ETF) franchises in the US,” according to a statement issued by the firm.
The Deutsche X-trackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEArca: DBEF) is Deutsche AWM’s largest ETF with over $14.6 billion in AUM. Only one ETF has added more new assets this year than DBEF, the dominant currency hedged play on the widely followed MSCI EAFE Index.
DBEF’s holdings can hail from 21 countries, including the following: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. With combined weight to France and Germany of over 19%, DBEF is a credible hedged euro idea. [Big Growth for This Currency Hedged ETF]
The Deutsche X-Trackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEArca: DBEU) has been another important driver of Deutsche AWM’s growth. That ETF now has over $2.9 billion in AUM, nearly $2.7 billion of which has flowed into the fund just this year. [A Quality Europe ETF]
With yen continuing to fall against the dollar, investors continue to embrace yen hedged ETFs, including the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEArca: DBJP). DBJP has added nearly $660 million of its $1.4 billion in AUM this year.
“Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s global exchange-traded platform launched in 2006, and is the world’s fifth largest ETF provider with approximately USD 76.9 billion in assets under management. Within the US, the platform offers 24 ETFs with a focus on currency-hedged strategies. It offers 17 currency-hedged products, making it the broadest currency-hedged suite in the US,” said the firm in the statement.
However, Deutsche AWM offers much more than currency hedged ETFs. For example, the firm’s Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (NYSEArca: ASHR) is the largest U.S.-listed A-shares ETF.
Deutsche AWM also sponsors several fixed income ETFs, including new interest rate-hedged products as well as the Deutsche X-Trackers Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond Fund (NYSEArca: RVNU).
RVNU is the only muni ETF to specifically target municipal revenue bonds, focusing solely on bonds that fund, state and local infrastructure projects such as water and sewer systems, public power systems, toll roads, bridges, tunnels, and many other public use projects where the interest and principal repayments are generated from dedicated revenue sources. [The Right Municipal Bond ETF Right Now]