The U.S. team at a $1.24997-trillion-AUM*, 5,000-employee, multinational, publicly traded asset manager is adding another index fund to their $29-billion-AUM* ETF business on this side of the pond.

Salvador Agustin "Sal" Gómez Gala DWS Group Head of Xtrackers Sales, Americas

On Tuesday (March 10), Sal Gómez, head of Xtrackers sales in the Americas for DWS [profile], and Henry Wu, head of Xtrackers products U.S., unveiled the launch of the Xtrackers Europe Market Leaders ETF (XEML on the Cboe BZX Exchange). New York City-based DBX Advisors LLC (a DWS subsidiary) serves as the new fund's investment advisor.

The DWS team quietly listed XEML several months ago, on December 23, 2025. The new ETF comes with an expense ratio of 35 basis points, and the fund now has about $5.03 million in AUM**

Henry Wu DWS Group Head of Xtrackers Products US

XEML is PM by four DBX vice presidents. That team includes:

Shlomo Bassous, director and senior portfolio engineer for Xtrackers at DWS Investment Management Americas;

Patrick Dwyer, director, senior portfolio engineer, and team lead for Xtrackers;

Daniel Park, VP and portfolio engineer for Xtrackers; and

Ashif Shaikh, VP and portfolio engineer for Xtrackers.

Stoxx Ltd. serves as index provider to XEML. The new ETF is designed to track the STOXX Europe Total Market Leaders Index with a portfolio of 40 European stocks.

Axel Lomholt, general manager of Stoxx, describes XEML as "an ETF comprised of sector-leading European companies that draws on STOXX's demonstrated ability to design and implement such tailored and curated investment vehicles."

"This latest launch further showcases STOXX's proven capabilities in index customization as leading institutions, like DWS, seek to expand their suite of ETF and other related offerings," Lomholt states.

Gómez puts the launch of XEML in the context of U.S. markets hitting "30-year highs in mega-cap concentration." Wu adds that the new fund "offers a potential beneficial international allocation to Europe's market leaders" for investors whose portfolios are "tilted towards U.S. stocks."

"European equities combine attractive valuations, diversification benefits, and growth potential driven by fiscal stimulus and policy changes," Gómez states.

"Market leaders in Europe experience strong outperformance and benefit from sizable market share, competitive advantages and historically consistent profitability," Wu states.

XEML is a passively managed, non-diversified series of DBX ETF Trust. The new fund's other service providers include:

SS&C's Alps Distributors, Inc. as distributor;

the Bank of New York Mellon as administrator, custodian, dividend disbursing agent, and transfer agent;

Ernst & Young LLP as independent accounting firm;

K&L Gates LLP as independent trustee counsel; and

Vedder Price P.C. as counsel.

*As of December 31, 2025.

**As of March 11, 2026. 

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