Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are becoming ever more popular with Austrian retail investors. Currently a third of new retail investors is investing in this product. The total number of investors trading in ETFs has increased in the past two years by approximately 240% to 129,000. With regard to their age groups, there have been strong increases in the age ranges 18-24 (from 4% to 9%) and 25-39 (from 26% to 39%). As at year-end 2021, Austrian households held € 5.17 billion in ETFs. The FMA views this trend as an appropriate occasion to inform the public about how ETFs work and their composition, doing so in the latest edition of its consumer information series, “Let’s talk about money” (Reden wir über Geld).
ETFs – Exchanged Traded Funds. The money from many investors is bundled together in and Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), and the collected capital is used to buy assets, such as shares or bonds. Investors investing in an ETF purchase units in a package of securities, rather than individual securities. Every ETF tracks an index, for example the Austrian ATX or the German DAX. Depending on the chosen index, investors may invest in different markets, sectors, commodities etc.
Investors who decide to invest in ETF should ensure a corresponding degree of diversification for risk mitigation purposes, i.e. spread broadly across investment classes. Choosing ETFs with sufficiently large volume, which have already been established in the market for a longer period of time, may also increase their security.
The FMA’s funds database contains over 1,400 ETFs that are allowed to be distributed in Austria: https://webhost.fma.gv.at/FondsSearch. However, no ETF has been set up in Austria to date.
Further information can be found at:
Journalists may address further enquiries to:
Annemarie Bauer
+43/(0)1/24959-6007