Do you still remember the moment you first heard about ETFs?

It was in the spring of 2000 when I first came into contact with the topic of ETFs – exchange-traded funds. My boss at the time, Andreas Fehrenbach at the HypoVereinsbank subsidiary Activest, asked me if I had ever heard of ETFs. The background to his question was Deutsche Börse’s interest. They wanted to know if we wanted to launch this new investment vehicle on the most important standard indices like DAX, MDAX, and NEMAX. I was promptly given the task of examining what ETFs actually are and whether licensing Deutsche Börse's indices would make sense.

What were the biggest challenges in establishing ETFs back then?

The biggest challenge at that time was certainly that nobody had dealt with the topic of exchange trading and funds yet. I talked to my colleagues from fund management in Munich, Luxembourg, and Dublin about ETFs. At the time, there were some reservations about passive management, but in particular, exchange trading of funds didn't seem to make sense to colleagues back then. It wasn't always easy for Andreas Fehrenbach and me to transfer our enthusiasm for the idea of ETFs, which we had gained in the meantime, to others. Fortunately, we were able to find the necessary support to set up the first German ETF company, INDEXCHANGE Investment, and launch the first ETFs approved in Germany in January 2001.

Deka ETFs were launched in 2008 under the ETFlab brand, practically as an experimental laboratory in Munich. How different was setting up a second ETF company for you?

When setting up ETFlab Investment, which is now part of Deka Investment, the big difference for us was the experience we had already gained in issuing, managing, and distributing ETFs. We knew the needs of investors, the administrative practice of the regulatory authorities, and the important parameters for launching simple, transparent, and liquid ETFs. With an experienced team, we were able to implement the best practices of recent years immediately. It had significantly less of a "startup feeling."

Were there moments when you doubted the success of ETFs?

I always believed in the ETF success story. My simple personal motto when investing money is: only buy what you understand yourself. And it's precisely the simplicity of ETFs that makes them so successful. Everyone can understand how ETFs work; anyone who has a securities account can easily buy ETFs on the stock exchange.

Which developments have surprised you most in the last 25 years?

I was particularly surprised that the major crises of 2001 and 2008 did not slow down the growth of ETFs, but rather promoted it enormously. While investors turned away from other forms of investment, there was a continuing boom for ETFs. The ETFs remained liquid and tradable even during the crisis, while the markets they tracked could sometimes no longer be traded. You could almost say that ETFs passed their acid test during the crisis. And at the latest through this, private investors have also gained confidence in ETFs.

Where do you see the future of ETFs?

ETFs are definitely out of their infancy. Especially among institutional investors, the products have established themselves as an important strategic but also tactical investment. For me, the future lies particularly in their use by private investors, especially those who have little experience with securities investments. Due to the simplicity and transparency of ETFs, I see the opportunity that even less experienced investors can become interested in, and perhaps even enthusiastic about, securities investments. Congratulations on the anniversary and here's to the next 25 years of ETFs!