News & Research

Assets under management in STOXX-linked ETFs grew 51% in 2025 to EUR 189 billion, following EUR 35.1 billion in net investments. The growth was largely driven by renewed interest in European equities, a segment where STOXX and DAX ETFs captured 44.6% of net new flows.

Introduced in 1996, the MDAX tracks Germany’s listed mid-cap companies, widely regarded as the backbone of the national economy. The index has become a popular barometer for investors, both in terms of the breadth of investable products linked to it and the returns it has delivered over the past three decades.

In its third year of existence, the iShares EURO STOXX 50 ESG ETF offers exposure to a core Eurozone benchmark minus controversial business activities. Sophie Thurner, ETF Product Strategist at BlackRock, explains how the ESG ETF fits in investors’ portfolios and how its underlying index has adapted to evolving regulation.

The EURO STOXX® Banks and STOXX® Europe 600 Banks indices climbed 80.3% and 67% respectively in 2025, the best performance among 20 ICB Supersectors and best year since 1987. In spite of strong gains in recent years, the banking sector remains significantly below the levels reached just before the global financial crisis.

The launches follow on from the roll-out three years ago of ETFs tracking yen-hedged versions of the two European flagship benchmarks, and come amid rising interest in European equities.

Changes are part of the December regular review of the DAX 50 ESG, DAX 50 ESG+, DAX 30 ESG, DAX ESG Target, DAX ESG Screened, MDAX ESG+, MDAX ESG Screened and DAX indices.

The new ETF is a first for the issuer and the only one in the market offering an equal-weight approach to the flagship Eurozone benchmark. Investors have this year been turning increasingly to equal-weight strategies to avoid single-stock concentration risks and rising valuations.

The new ETF reflects a hypothetical portfolio invested in the German benchmark that simultaneously sells a DAX at-the-money call option, generating additional income at the cost of capping stock gains.

Tom Shuttlewood, Head of Strategy and Digital Asset Indices within Product Development at STOXX, spoke during the Eurex Focus Day on Volatility about possible avenues to expand the current offering of the STOXX volatility indices.

A trading analysis of the past 12 years shows a large portion of the daily returns in the EURO STOXX 50 index occurs between a session close and the immediate open the following day. But does it pay off to trade this nighttime boost? Hamish Seegopaul, Global Head of Index Product Innovation at STOXX, takes a look.

Germany’s DAX is outperforming pan-European indices and its ETFs are luring record flows in 2025. Veronika Kylburg, Head of Global Benchmarks DAX at STOXX, discusses with the ETF publication what some of the drivers are behind this performance and explores the benchmark’s methodology changes since 2018.

Changes are part of the September regular review of the DAX 50 ESG, DAX 50 ESG+, DAX 30 ESG, DAX ESG Target, DAX ESG Screened, MDAX ESG+, MDAX ESG Screened and DAX indices.