The figures speak for themselves: In the first nine months of 2026, DWS posted net inflows of nearly 35 billion euros in long-term assets. A large share of that growth came from the business with passive investment products, especially the Xtrackers ETF brand.

"ETF growth continues, and it is accelerating," says Sven Württemberger, CEO of DWS Switzerland, which will in future operate as Deutsche Asset Management, in an interview with finews. Across Europe, ETF inflows so far this year were up by nearly 50 percent compared with the same period last year.

For DWS, the business with low-cost, scalable investment products therefore remains one of the most important growth drivers.

ETF growth alone is not enough

At the same time, Württemberger is observing a development that at first glance seems to run counter to the triumph of passive investing: active asset management is regaining importance.

"We are hearing more and more from institutional, but also semi-institutional, clients that they are including active solutions more heavily in their portfolios again," he explains.

One reason is the increasing concentration of major stock indexes in a few large technology companies. Anyone who follows only a benchmark index is automatically heavily exposed to these names.

 This is increasingly bringing to the fore the question of how such concentrations can be deliberately balanced through broader diversification.Investors are therefore increasingly asking how they can diversify more broadly while also generating additional returns relative to the benchmark.

Private banks are expanding their strategy

According to Württemberger, the shift is already being felt in client meetings.

A major private bank has announced that it will once again use active funds more heavily in the future. In Switzerland as well, DWS is registering rising demand for active and semi-active investment solutions.

These include active ETFs, benchmark-near strategies and so-called index-enhanced solutions. The latter continue to track a reference index, but allow portfolio management to make targeted deviations in order to generate additional returns.

Pension funds are also increasingly considering how index-based models can be meaningfully expanded with complementary index-enhanced solutions and active elements

For Württemberger, this does not mean passive strategies will be replaced by active ones. Rather, demand is becoming more differentiated.

Postfinance ETF opens up a new client group

One example of the importance of the ETF business is the collaboration with Postfinance.

According to Württemberger, the jointly launched ETF was named "ETF of the Year" just a few months after its introduction. Postfinance also received the "Newcomer of the Year" award at the Swiss ETF Awards.

The response has exceeded expectations. However, in terms of asset growth, the product is still in an early growth phase. "Building from 10 million to 50 million is an important growth phase. As it grows, the circle of potential investors usually expands as well," says Württemberger, referring to the necessary scaling of a new ETF.

At this stage, the ETF is focused primarily on retail investors. As fund assets rise, the product can also become increasingly interesting for larger institutional investors, since many professional investors take minimum volumes into account. The Postfinance ETF is therefore currently aimed primarily at self-directed retail investors.

In the medium term, however, Württemberger sees further potential among independent asset managers, neobrokers and other digital distribution channels.

The battle for distribution channels

The growing importance of neobrokers, online platforms and ETF savings plans is also changing the business model of large asset managers.

Württemberger makes it clear that DWS wants to keep growing in these areas. At the same time, institutional clients are to be addressed more strongly with tailored solutions.

As a result, the boundaries between passive and active management are becoming increasingly blurred. An ETF can be managed passively or actively. And institutional mandates can contain both index-oriented and active elements.

Combining active and passive strategies in a targeted way

DWS continues to benefit strongly from the high demand for ETFs. At the same time, the asset manager is also seeing positive development in active equity business. According to Württemberger, this segment recently posted its best half-year in six years.

For the Swiss market, he therefore sees growth opportunities on both sides.

The development could lie in investors combining active and passive approaches within their portfolios even more deliberately in the future, rather than viewing the two product groups as fundamental opposites, Württemberger says.

This would open up new opportunities for the industry in product innovation, investment performance and access to different client groups.