ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis – Short European equities ahead of French elections
Gold ETPs recorded inflows for the second consecutive week as prices head closer to US$1,300/oz.
Oil ETPs continue to see outflows as prices rise back to levels seen at the end of February.
Investors are positioning ahead of the European elections, reducing exposure to the European equities.
Gold ETPs recorded inflows for the second consecutive week as prices head closer to US$1,300/oz. Following the launch of 59 tomahawks on Syria, markets have been holding their breath, watching officials’ reactions in the US and Russia. Increasing tensions between the West and North Korea have also exacerbated geopolitical fears in the market. Gold continued its price rise last week, reaching US$1,285/oz on Friday. Inflows continued into gold ETPs which rose to US$81mn last week. Inflows into gold ETPs surged US$4.2bn since the trough in flows 20 months ago, remaining US$2bn below its highest level seen in November 2012. Geopolitical tensions however may start to abate as G7 countries are taking a new stance to the crisis, refusing to sanction Russia again as they did in 2014, instead opting for a dialogue in order to convince president Putin to join the allies against Assad’s government.
Oil ETPs continue to see outflows as prices rise back to levels seen at the end of February. Geopolitical tensions between the US and Russia continue to add upward pressure on oil prices, sending both Brent and WTI to 6-week highs last Tuesday. According to the latest Oil Market Report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), global oil supply fell by 755 kb/d in March, attributing it to the OPEC/Non-OPEC agreement. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) also reported a decline of US oil inventories by 2.1mb/d, the largest weekly decline year-to-date. Investors took profit as indicated by the US$8.6mn and US$24.4mn outflows out of Brent and WTI ETPs respectively last week. We continue to believe that a price correction is more than likely in the coming weeks as US oil production continues to increase and we are unlikely to see the OPEC/Non-OPEC agreement extended for another six months with all its current participants.
Investors are positioning ahead of the European elections. Last week saw US$4mn inflows in short DAX ETPs and US$6mn out of long DAX ETPs. While the German election is still few months away, the first round of the French election is on 23rd April. Fear of a populist party winning the election is at the highest ever with odds continuing to rise for Le Pen and Mélenchon to reach the second round. In contrast, investors reduced their exposure to the US dollar against the Euro after Trump complained the US Dollar was too strong. Long EUR short USD ETPs saw US$14.2mn inflows while short EUR long USD ETPs recorded US$4.8mn of outflows last week.
Video Presentation
Edith Southammakosane, Research Analyst at ETF Securities provides an analysis of last week’s performance, flow and trading activity in commodity exchange traded products and a look at the week ahead.
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iShares STOXX Europe 600 UCITSETF (DE) EUR (Acc) (EXIE ETF) med ISIN DE000A2QP4B6, försöker följa STOXX® Europe 600-indexet. STOXX® Europe 600-indexet följer de 600 största europeiska företagen.
Den börshandlade fondensTER (total cost ratio) uppgår till 0,20 % p.a. ETFen replikerar resultatet av det underliggande indexet genom full replikering (köper alla indexbeståndsdelar). Utdelningarna i ETFen ackumuleras och återinvesteras.
iShares STOXX Europe 600 UCITSETF (DE) EUR (Acc) är en stor ETF med tillgångar på 641 miljoner euro under förvaltning. Denna ETF lanserades den 24 februari 2023 och har sin hemvist i Tyskland.
Varför EXIE?
Exponering för ett brett utbud av företag från utvecklade länder i Europa
Direktinvesteringar till stora, medelstora och små företag
Det betyder att det går att handla andelar i denna ETF genom de flesta svenska banker och Internetmäklare, till exempel DEGIRO, Nordnet, Aktieinvest och Avanza.
People have long joined clubs and social circles to talk about sports, politics, business, and more. As the internet evolved, social networking began complementing these physical spaces, offering a more accessible, democratized way to connect and exchange ideas.
As social media gained influence, it began to leave its mark on the financial world. In 2012, an internet community called “Wallstreet Bets” started on Reddit, focusing on bold, high-risk stock trading. But it wasn’t until 2020 that the term “meme stocks” was first coined.
What is a meme?
A meme is an idea, image, phrase, or cultural reference that spreads rapidly across the internet, often humorous or satirical. Memes evolve through social sharing and adaptation, shaping online discourse and trends.
In January 2021, Reddit users in the Wall Street Bets forum generated hype about GameStop (ticker: GME), a struggling video game retailer that hedge funds were heavily shorting. The buzz on Reddit drove the stock price of GameStop from $4.42 to $483 at its (intraday) peak on January 28, 2021. Though the hype faded, GME remains up 414.48% from its pre-surge price, marking a turning point in retail investing and online market movements.
What is a memecoin?
A memecoin is a cryptocurrency inspired by internet memes or viral trends. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies focused on utility (like Bitcoin or Ethereum), memecoins thrive on community engagement, humor, and speculative momentum. Their low barriers to entry make them easy to create, trade, and experiment with, serving as an accessible gateway for newcomers to the crypto space.
Traditionally, when a meme or trend went viral, platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or Reddit captured the economic value, while the creators and communities driving the momentum saw little in return. Crypto changed that dynamic. With infrastructure that enables native asset ownership and online trading, individuals and communities can now participate in the upside of the culture they create.
Imagine subscribing to a YouTube creator before they blew up—and actually earning a share of their rise. That’s the future memecoins are starting to unlock.
From meme to mainstream: The evolution of memecoins
In 2013, software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin (DOGE) as a lighthearted parody of the cryptocurrency craze, inspired by the popular “Doge” meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog. Despite its origins as a joke, Dogecoin quickly gained a dedicated community and achieved a market capitalization in the billions. This success paved the way for numerous other meme coins, blending internet culture with digital assets.
The memecoin sector burst into the mainstream in late 2024 and early 2025, propelled by a frenzy of token launches on Solana and headline moments like Donald Trump releasing his own coin. But not all tokens are created equal. Many of these newcomers were short-lived, extractive plays—designed to capture attention, extract liquidity, and disappear.
While they’ve stress-tested blockchains with massive trading volumes, they shouldn’t be mistaken for more established memecoins like Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE). These tokens are different. They’ve endured not because of hype cycles but because they represent something deeper: tokenized internet culture, forged through shared humor, sentiment, and identity.
What gives memecoins their intrinsic value?
In a world where financial worth is usually tied to revenue, utility, or technological innovation, memecoins are the outliers. They don’t rely on complex protocols or multi-year roadmaps—they thrive on cultural relevance.
Memes are the internet’s native language: they carry emotion, identity, and connection across borders. DOGE, launched in 2013, transformed a lighthearted Shiba Inu meme into a symbol of optimism and generosity. SHIB, born in 2020 as a self-declared “Dogecoin killer,” evolved into an expansive DeFi and NFT ecosystem with a devoted, youthful base. PEPE, emerging in 2023, captured the raw, viral energy of the “Pepe the Frog” meme and quickly gained traction. What unites them all is their ability to embed themselves in the internet’s cultural fabric—turning memes into enduring digital assets.
In the end, memecoins are more than the tokens themselves—they’re a bold experiment in redefining value in a digital world. They harness not just capital but also culture. Their deeper impact lies in showing that relevance, community, and shared culture can be powerful forms of value in their own right.
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The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
UBS ETF (LU) MSCI World ex USA Index Fund UCITSETF (USD) A-acc (CHSI ETF) med ISIN LU2807512947, syftar till att följa MSCI World ex USA-indexet. MSCI World ex USA-indexet följer stora och medelstora aktier från utvecklade marknader världen över (exklusive USA).
Den börshandlade fondens totala kostnadskvot (TER) uppgår till 0,14 % per år. UBS ETF (LU) MSCI World ex USA Index Fund UCITSETF (USD) A-acc är den billigaste ETFen som följer MSCI World ex USA-indexet. ETFen replikerar det underliggande indexets utveckling genom urvalsteknik (genom att köpa ett urval av de mest relevanta indexkomponenterna). Utdelningarna i ETFen ackumuleras och återinvesteras.
Det betyder att det går att handla andelar i denna ETF genom de flesta svenska banker och Internetmäklare, till exempel Nordnet, SAVR, DEGIRO och Avanza.