20/03/25 11:06:14

Funds: US equities? No, thank you!

US technology funds are weakening - cashing in is the order of the day. A fund with a good sustainability rating is always popular. Real estate funds continue to suffer. 


20. March 2025 FRANKFURT (Börse Frankfurt). No technology stocks at all - this trend is also evident in fund trading. “Tech funds are under huge pressure and are being sold across the board,” reports Frank Wöllnitz, who trades funds for ICF Bank. “This is especially true when Tesla is a large position.” Turnover is extremely high due to the strong fluctuations on the markets. “There is a lot going on,” explains Wöllnitz. “We are very, very busy,” reports Matthias Präger from Baader Bank.

The DAX reached a new all-time high of 23,476 points on Tuesday this week - driven by the easing of the debt brake and the billions invested in armaments and infrastructure. Although US equities have recently recovered somewhat, they are still well below their highs - the S&P 500 by 3 percent and the Nasdaq 100 by just under 6 percent.

“We only see sell-offs”.

According to Wöllnitz, the Morgan Stanley Investment Funds US Growth (LU0073232471) and Fidelity Global Technology (LU0099574567) will sell off in a big way. The Morgan Stanley fund focuses on growth stocks, particularly in the tech sector. It is down 13 percent since the beginning of the year. Fidelity Global Technology, which has been extremely popular and successful for a long time, is down 4 percent. “We are only seeing sales,” notes the ICF trader.

As usual, Baader Bank is dominated by sales, namely of European and international equity funds. The funds affected include Fondak (DE0008471012), the two Threadneedle funds CT European Smaller Companies (LU1864952335) and CT Global Focus (LU0061474960), DWS Top Dividende (DE0009848119) and Dirk Müller Premium Aktien (DE000A111ZF1). Some of these have performed very well this year. For example, the Fondak with German large, mid and small caps achieved a plus of 14 percent. Präger reported inflows for terrAssisi Aktien (DE0009847343). The fund, which invests according to the ethical principles of the Franciscan order, is one of the very few products to receive top marks for sustainability from Finanztest. This year it is slightly in the red. Over a five-year period, however, it scores well with an annual return of over 17%.  

Meanwhile, things are rather quiet in the area of Asian funds. “Both sides are being played,” says Präger. The DWS Top Asia (DE0009769760), for example, is more likely to be sold.

Top-selling money market funds, back and forth in gold mining funds 

Money market funds also remain extremely popular, as Wöllnitz notes. “Funds such as the Franklin US Dollar Liquid Reserve (LU0052767562) were ignored for years, but now they are top sellers.”

Trading in gold mining funds is also above average. “This is probably due to gold's new all-time high,” notes Präger. He is seeing purchases and sales of mining funds. DJE Gold & Ressourcen (LU0159550077), for example, is being snapped up. This fund focuses on shares in gold mining companies and the share price has risen by 16% since the start of the year.

Real estate funds: everyone wants out

Real estate funds are once again under pressure, such as Grundbesitz Global (DE0009807057), according to Wöllnitz. But otherwise, sales clearly dominated. “The bad news doesn't stop, everyone wants to sell.” The Nuremberg Regional Court recently ruled that the risk of Uni Immo Wohnen ZBI was understated - in other words, in the interests of the plaintiff, Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg. The fund was surprisingly devalued by 17 percent in June last year. 

By Anna-Maria Borse, 20. March, 2025, © Deutsche Börse AG

Anna-Maria Borse is a financial and business editor specializing in the financial market/stock exchange and economic topics.

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