Xtrackers

DWS earns an Average Parent rating, reflecting a balance of strengths and weaknesses.

The firm has a well-diversified franchise across equities, fixed-income, multi-asset, alternatives, and passive investments, although the quality of its active lineup remains uneven. While long-term outperformance is an important objective, DWS also places considerable emphasis on asset gathering and profitability. Despite past leadership instability, the firm has maintained a good degree of steadiness across most of its investment teams and offers genuine strengths across its vast product lineup, with fees that remain fairly competitive.

Many of the firm’s largest funds are managed by experienced, long-tenured managers who have delivered solid results. However, quality varies across the active lineup. In the passives space, DWS has built a robust franchise through its Xtrackers platform, representing approximately 38% of assets under management as of June 2026. The firm seeks to differentiate itself there by responding swiftly to market trends and themes rather than focusing solely on cost leadership. Most of the firm’s new product launches are now concentrated in the exchange-traded fund space. This includes active ETFs, a segment DWS entered in late 2024.

The active fund range has been streamlined to some degree. Initiatives are underway to enhance collaboration and performance across the active lineup. A revised research framework seeks to streamline processes, reduce documentation requirements, give analysts greater flexibility in how they conduct research, and make broader use of data and AI tools.

At the same time, DWS has increased accountability by placing greater emphasis on measuring the contribution of research to investment outcomes. Analysts are assessed more formally on the performance of their investment ideas, including shorter-term opportunities, while portfolio managers, many of whom also have analyst responsibilities, retain discretion over implementation and final investment decisions. While the framework is potentially positive, it remains too early to assess its effectiveness.

The firm has revised its incentive structures, placing greater emphasis on performance relative to peers and introducing clearer differentiation in variable compensation based on investment outcomes. Performance measurement centers on one- and three-year results, but the focus on peer-relative performance and achieving high Morningstar ratings also incorporates a longer-term perspective, extending up to 10 years for more established funds.

While DWS faced reputational headwinds related to greenwashing allegations in recent years, the associated investigations were resolved in 2023 and 2025. In response, the firm has strengthened the governance, documentation, and disclosure processes for its sustainable investing.