Blog posts

As it turns 13, the STOXX Thematics index suite continues to grow, offering investors exposure to structural megratrends changing our modern world. We look at the historical performance of the indices and zoom in on 2023 – a year dominated by technology themes.

The sector composition of the Eurozone blue-chip benchmark looks very different from its inception 26 years ago. Most recently, two technology stocks – ASML and SAP – have had the biggest influence on the index’s direction, and may be re-positioning it in the eyes of investors.

Five years since the launch of futures on the STOXX Europe 600 ESG-X index, the Eurex-STOXX partnership in ESG derivatives now includes nearly a dozen listed products. Volumes continue to pick up, testimony to increasing investor interest and evolving regulation in the region.

What is the value of diversification? We can visualize it using a simple three-asset portfolio, observing how the risk-adjusted performance changes when varying the correlation. Correlation measures the degree to which two variables move in relation to each other, and serves as a guide as to how well assets can diversify each other.

The DAX 30 ESG index is the latest introduction to a family of German ESG benchmarks. It tracks the country’s large-caps with the highest ESG scores determined by ISS ESG.

As DWS launched the Xtrackers Biodiversity Focus SRI UCITS ETFs, we sat down with experts from Xtrackers, ISS ESG and STOXX to explore what’s driving investor interest in biodiversity strategies and how they can comprehensively integrate natural-world data and considerations into portfolios.

The STOXX Global 1800 rose 1.3% last month and nearly topped its record high from 2022 when excluding dividends. Technology shares extended their rally, while Momentum-style stocks had their best month on record relative to the benchmark.

A new study from specialists at BlackRock and STOXX explores the potential benefits of low tracking-error, multifactor portfolios. While factor investing has historically been dominated by single-factor strategies with relatively strong tilts, the authors show that diversification across multiple factors with smaller tilts and less tracking error can pay off in the long run.

Mid-curve options on dividend futures give market participants a more targeted instrument, with quarterly expirations, to gain exposure on the direction of European dividend payments.

Omar Moufti, Thematics and Sectors Product strategist at BlackRock, says the transition to a low-carbon economy is just one of the forces propelling the copper and lithium industries, and explains why investing in the miners’ stocks may be an attractive long-term proposition for investors.

Eurex will launch futures on the STOXX Europe 600 SRI (Socially Responsible Investing), an index with extended exclusions as well as emissions and best-in-class ESG filters. The offering follows the successful adoption of similar contracts on the STOXX EUROPE 600 ESG-X, launched in 2019.

The STOXX Global 1800 jumped 4.9% last month, taking its 2023 gain to 24% — its best annual showing since 2019. Optimism that US interest rates will fall as early as 2024 triggered equity gains across regions and styles in the last two months.