The growing influence of US investors in the DAX, who according to the latest EY survey now control almost a quarter of the shares in Germany's top stock market league, is currently a cause for concern. While the consulting firm believes that this strong commitment underscores the attractiveness of DAX companies, KfW chief economist Dirk Schumacher points out that „the US is increasingly moving in a direction where the administration appears to be prepared to exert political influence on investors.“ In a shaky economic situation, DAX companies could also face „higher return requirements“ from their shareholder base. This depends on whether a pension fund or a hedge fund is investing. Overall, the US market offers a wide range of return profiles for individual asset managers and other investors, which could also become noticeable with increasing participation by US addresses in DAX companies.

According to EY, the majority of DAX shares were once again in foreign hands last year, with the overall ratio remaining unchanged at 52.6%. However, looking at the long term, the consulting and auditing firm points out that the share of Americans (primarily US investors) has risen from 17.1% to 25.4% since 2010. The calculation refers to the 34 index companies for which figures are available for the entire period. In view of the German government's goal of mobilising more money for defence and infrastructure to support the economy, which has also been welcomed by US investors, they could expand their involvement in German companies in the future. As a manufacturer of energy infrastructure equipment, Siemens Energy already attracted significantly more foreign investors last year than in the previous year. Their share in the company rose by a full 20.8 percentage points.

In contrast, European investors in the DAX are on the retreat. Their share in the companies under review fell from 25.7% in 2010 to 22.9% last year. Zalando, whose foreign-owned shares fell by 12.7%, as well as Daimler Truck, Bayer and Airbus, are particularly affected by the retreat of foreign investors. Index drivers such as SAP (59%) and Siemens (69%) are majority-owned by international investors.