Daily ETF Watch: DB Funds Renamed

Most Deutsche Bank products will officially be referred to as ‘ETFs’ in August.

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Reviewed by: Hung Tran
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Edited by: Hung Tran

Most Deutsche Bank products will officially be referred to as ‘ETFs’ in August.

 

Deutsche Bank is changing the names on 17 of its nontarget-date exchange-traded funds, using “ETF” in each and dropping the word “Fund” from each, the latest sign that the fund sponsor is refining the marketing of its U.S.-listed ETFs.

While the sponsor has been enjoying success and, for example, has the biggest lineup of currency-hedged ETFs in the U.S., it is in some ways waging a marketing battle aimed at offsetting the astonishing success of one fund in particular: the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ | B-56).

That WisdomTree ETF has $10 billion in assets, while Deutsche’s competing db X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DBJP B-62) has $454 million.

One ace in the hole the Deutsche Bank currency-hedged products have is their MSCI indexes, which make them dovetail perfectly with the plethora of virtually identical nonhedged products that are widely used. That’s perfect for investors keen on careful benchmarking, notably large institutions that often do favor MSCI indexes.

Still, the company is a recognized leader, particularly in the realm of equity ETFs focused on China’s vast A-shares market.

The new names, listed below, are effective August 11, according to a regulatory filing the unit of the German bank made:

  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Brazil Hedged Equity ETF (DBBR | D-45)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity ETF (DBGR | B-58)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF (DBEF | B-55)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Emerging Markets Hedged Equity ETF (DBEM | F-60)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DBJP | B-62)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI United Kingdom Hedged Equity ETF (DBUK | C-50)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF (DBEU | B-50)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DBAP | F-50)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity ETF (DBAW)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI South Korea Hedged Equity ETF (DBKO)
  • Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Mexico Hedged Equity ETF (DBMX)

The changes to the firm’s three China-focused ETFs are as follows:

  • Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (ASHR | D-50)
  • Deutsche X-trackers Harvest MSCI All China Equity ETF (CN)
  • Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETF (ASHS)

The remaining three are as follows:

  • Deutsche X-trackers Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond ETF (RVNU | D-83)
  • Deutsche X-trackers Regulated Utilities ETF (UTLT | C-60)
  • Deutsche X-trackers Solactive Investment Grade Subordinated Debt ETF (SUBD)

 

Hung Tran is a former staff writer for etf.com.