Deutsche Bank said that as part of its offering, investors in Switzerland will be able to benefit from falling markets for the first time. The bank is launching the first ETFs in Europe on the DJ EURO STOXX 50 Short Index, ShortDAX and DJ STOXX GLOBAL SELECT DIVIDEND 100 Index, the latter two which are exclusive to Deutsche Bank. This complements the ETFs that were launched on the DJ EURO STOXX SELECT DIVIDEND 30 Index, S&P CNX Nifty (India) Index and eight other Emerging Market indices last month.

“With these two ETFs on short indices Deutsche Bank offers investors in Europe the possibility to participate via a ETF 1:1 on falling markets for the very first time. Hence investors will be now able to bet on falling markets or hedge entire portfolios without having to use derivatives,” said Thorsten Michalik, Head of Exchange Traded Funds for Deutsche Bank.

The 21 db x-trackers ETFs belong to a series of 49 outstanding Deutsche Bank ETFs in Europe. With those 49 outstanding ETFs Deutsche Bank is the third biggest ETF provider in Europe, measured by the number of ETFs. The new db x-trackers ETFs cover indices on different asset classes – equities, bonds, cash market, credit and commodities.

Deutsche Bank says that the growth of the ETF market in Europe reflects the strong demand from private and institutional investors for passive investment instruments that are attractively priced and easily accessible. DB x-trackers ETFs are already available to retail investors in Germany through monthly savings plans.

ETFs were first introduced in the USA in 1993 and in Europe in 2000. Currently, there are over 1,050 ETFs listed globally with over EUR522 billion (US$713 billion)assets under management. In Europe there are over 364 ETFs available with assets under management of approximately EUR82 billion. By 2011 it is widely forecast that assets in ETFs globally will exceed EUR1,500 billion.

Some 51 ETFs from two new and five existing issuers have been listed on the SWX this year alone, almost doubling the choice of products in the ETF segment since the start of 2007. ETF trading volumes were also 55% higher in the first half of 2007 than in the same period in 2006.

Alain Picard, Product Manager of ETFs & Other Financial Products at the SWX & virt-x, observed: "ETFs are becoming more and more popular in Switzerland. These flexible, low-cost products meet the varied needs of private and institutional investors alike. The choice of products in various asset classes, such as equities, bonds and commodities, is growing all the time. These new ETF will give investors access to even more regions, sectors, investment styles and strategies."

An exchange-traded fund is an investment company with shares which trade intraday on stock exchanges at market-determined prices. Investors may buy or sell ETF shares through a broker just as they would the shares of any publicly traded company.