The German Investment Funds Association, BVI, has launched a research series on the German ETF market, providing what it calls the most comprehensive dataset yet on ETF holdings and flows attributable to German investors.
Developed in cooperation with Clearstream, the data series gives insights into German investors’ ETF portfolios for an analysis of market structure and trends.
ETF assets held by German investors rose from €309 billion in mid-2023 to €500 billion by June 2025, a 62% increase in two years, according to BVI’s data. Equity ETFs accounted for about 82% of total assets, while bond ETFs represented 14% and money market ETFs 3%.
Fund managers’ “home bias” could cost EU billions: BVI
ETFs are used by both institutional investors, including insurers and pension funds, and by retail investors, many of whom invest through ETF savings plans, the finding showed.
ETFs account for about one quarter of retail fund assets in Germany. Between mid-2023 and mid-2025, around 90 percent of retail fund inflows went into ETFs.
Germany remains Europe’s largest ETF market, holding around €500 billion, or 23% of all Euro area ETF assets, according to European Central Bank data.
The BVI said it plans to publish follow-up studies examining asset allocation, investor behaviour, cost structures and the rise of active ETFs in the coming months.
