Investment: These three world ETFs are defying the tech crisis

The common world ETFs are currently suffering from the weakness of US tech stocks. The Handelsblatt therefore looked for alternatives using a catalog of criteria - and found them.

The weakness of US technology stocks is worrying many global ETF investors.

Using data from the investor platform JustETF, Handelsblatt looked for alternatives to the classic world ETFs.

The criteria for selection: The ETFs had to have ended the past week with a plus and also performed better than the MSCI World over a month and a year.

Dusseldorf. Tech stocks are under pressure on the stock market. This is a problem for many ETF investors. Because the well-known world ETFs such as MSCI World, MSCI World All Country World and FTSE All World depend significantly on their development. MSCI World ETFs lost around two percent of their value last week.

The Handelsblatt therefore looked for alternatives using data from the investor platform JustETF. The prerequisite: The ETFs had to have ended the past week with a plus and also performed better than the MSCI World over a month and a year.

ETFs that only reflect one industry or topic were not taken into account. In addition, the managed fund volume had to be at least 100 million. Out of more than 300 ETFs, only three dividend ETFs meet all the criteria.

1. UBS S&P Dividend Aristocrats

Size: 191 million euros

Annual expense ratio: 0.3 percent

Use of dividends: distributing

The UBS S&P Dividend Aristocrats (ISIN: IE00BMP3HG27) tracks the performance of the S&P Developed ESG Dividend Aristocrats Index. The stocks are selected from the S&P Developed Broad Market Index, which consists of several thousand companies from 25 developed countries, with South Korea being counted as a developed nation.

This means that only companies that have increased or at least maintained their dividends for at least ten years in a row are eligible for the dividend option. Such a series speaks for a solid business model because it requires a correspondingly positive profit development.

The stocks are then filtered based on ESG criteria. At least one-fifth of companies are excluded that have the lowest environmental, social responsibility and governance ratings compared to the broader S&P universe.

The remaining stocks make up the S&P Developed ESG Dividend Aristocrats Index. The weighting is then not based on market capitalization, but rather on the level of the dividend yield. The composition is checked annually.

The UBS ETF consists of a maximum of 100 stocks, with the weightings being close to each other. The largest positions are just under two percent, the smallest are around 0.5 percent. The British financial company Legal & General, the French customer service specialist Teleperformance and the US retail chain Best Buy currently have the greatest weight.

Regionally, there is a big focus on Europe, which has a share of almost 42 percent. US stocks only account for just under 25 percent. When it comes to sectors, financial companies make up almost a quarter, followed by industry, healthcare and real estate, each with over ten percent. The technology sector, on the other hand, comes in at less than two percent, as does the energy sector.

The ETF closed last week with a gain of 0.7 percent. Over the course of one year, the ETF is up 23 percent including dividend distributions - around nine percentage points more than an MSCI World ETF. The UBS ETF was already performing better than the MSCI World in 2025. In 2023 and 2024, the MSCI World was clearly ahead.

2. VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders

Size: 10.4 billion euros

Cost: 0.38 percent

Use of dividends: distributing

The VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders (ISIN: NL0011683594) consists of 100 large companies from industrialized nations with high dividend payments. It tracks the Morningstar Developed Markets Large Cap Dividend Leaders Screened Select Index.

The starting point are large companies (large caps) from industrialized nations, with South Korea being considered an emerging country. To be included in the index, companies must meet several dividend payment requirements:

A dividend must have been paid out in the past twelve months.

The dividend per share must have grown over the past five months.

The payout ratio must be less than 75 percent of the company's profits. This is to ensure that the dividend policy is sustainable.

Listed real estate companies (Reits) are excluded. Companies that violate certain ESG criteria are also excluded. These include manufacturers of tobacco products and producers of controversial weapons or weapons for civilian use.

From the remaining companies, the 100 companies with the highest dividend yield form the index. The weighting is then proportional to the total value of the dividends distributed in the past twelve months, with the maximum weight being limited to five percent. The maximum weighting of a single sector is 40 percent. The composition is checked every six months.

European stocks currently have the largest regional share, which together make up two thirds of the index. The country with the greatest weight is Great Britain with 17 percent, the USA has 16 percent.

When it comes to industries, the financial sector accounts for almost 40 percent. Energy, healthcare and consumer staples follow well behind, each of which is above the ten percent mark. The technology sector makes up just 0.4 percent of the index.

However, there is only one financial institution among the five largest positions, the British bank HSBC. The largest individual position is the American telecommunications group Verizon Communications. US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Swiss food giant Nestlé and British energy company Shell complete the top five.

Last week, the VanEck ETF closed with a minimal gain of 0.1 percent. Over the course of one year, the ETF gained 27 percent including dividends. In 2025 it also performed better than the MSCI World. The latter was ahead in 2023 and 2024, but in contrast to the MSCI World, the VanEck ETF achieved a positive return in each of the past five years, including in the crisis year of 2022.

3. Amundi Global Equity Quality Income

Size: 300 million euros

Cost: 0.45 percent

Use of dividends: distributing

The Amundi Global Equity Quality (LU0832436512) is based on the SG Global Quality Income Index. Its strategy is based on basic principles that have been in effect since 2012.

The aim of the index is to find stocks from developed nations with low risk and high quality. To do this, the quality of the published consolidated balance sheets is first assessed using nine criteria, including profit, a positive operating profit and the level of debt. At least seven criteria must be met.

An accounting risk score is then created. It calculates how far companies are from default. Only the best 40 percent of the investment universe is taken into account. Since corporate balance sheets in the financial sector are particularly complicated, banks and insurers are excluded.

In addition, two conditions must be met for the dividend yield. It must be greater than four percent and greater than 125 percent of the market capitalization-weighted dividend yield of the entire investment universe.

An index is formed from the remaining stocks, which consists of 25 to 75 stocks, all of which are given the same weight. If fewer than 25 stocks meet the criteria, they will be gradually relaxed. If there are more than 75, the best are selected based on overall quality. The composition is checked quarterly.

Of the countries, the USA currently has the greatest weight at almost 34 percent. The European countries together come to 37 percent. Among sectors, utilities such as Essential Utilities from the USA and manufacturers of consumer staples such as Kimberly-Clark or Hormel Foods from the USA together make up more than 50 percent of the index.

However, the composition of the Amundi ETF is not physical, but rather synthetic. The fund therefore does not have to hold all stocks with their exact index weights.

The ETF closed last week with a gain of 0.3 percent. Over the course of one year, including dividends, it gained a good 19 percent. Like the VanEck ETF, it rose more than the MSCI World in 2025, but less sharply in 2023 and 2024. However, he also ended the difficult stock market year of 2022 with a plus.