Deutsche Börse’s new strategy aims to lead industry transformation with buy-side focus and digital assets

At Deutsche Börse’s capital markets day in London on 10 October 2025, chief executive Stephan Leithner set out a sharpened strategy, “Leading the Transformation”, that seeks to push the group beyond its Horizon 2026 blueprint and to broaden its footprint with a particular focus on the buy side.

Leithner, who took sole charge on 1 October 2024 after an initial co‑CEO period with his predecessor Theodor Weimer, told investors the past year had been “a tremendous first 12 months of transition” and that “a new picture has emerged that is much clearer.” According to the original report from the event, the strategy builds on secular trends , rising pension and retail participation, structural inflows into Europe, increased debt issuance and the EU’s Savings and Investment Union , and on a rebalanced portfolio spanning investment management solutions, trading & clearing, fund services and securities services.

Central to the plan is expanding Deutsche Börse’s buy‑side franchise. Leithner argued the buy side is now growing faster than the sell side and that asset managers facing margin compression are accelerating outsourcing and seeking neutral, infrastructure‑level partners. “We are the solution as a partner for for buy side,” he said, adding that the creation of the Investment Management Solutions (IMS) unit “has given us proximity and strategic dialogues with the buy side, which Deutsche Börse has not historically had and we have started to monetize that.” IMS combines SimCorp , the buy‑side technology platform , with ISS STOXX’s index and stewardship business.

Industry data cited at the event and in Deutsche Börse’s own materials shows about €45 trillion of assets run on the SimCorp platform across roughly 800 clients, and that SimCorp is nearing the milestone of having 50% of clients on a software‑as‑a‑service delivery model , a trigger the company regards as important for its economics. SimCorp now hosts a high proportion of alternative and private assets; the group said about 70% of clients already host alternatives on SimCorp, and that the acquisition of cloud‑native specialist Domos FS has raised alternative assets on the platform to more than €6 trillion. ISS STOXX, meanwhile, underpins both active and passive strategies, with between €80bn and €100bn of ETF assets tracking STOXX indices and more than 5,000 clients for ISS STOXX.

Approximately 36% of net group revenue is generated directly with buy‑side clients, the company said, and management expects that share to grow as IMS is further monetised. Christian Kromann, appointed to lead IMS, described alternatives, US expansion and the continued shift to SaaS as key growth levers.

The strategy also places emphasis on new asset classes and technology. Stephanie Eckermann, a member of the executive board, outlined a two‑fold digital‑assets approach in which Clearstream will play a settlement role while digital securities platforms are developed to digitise the full life cycle of securities and funds. “Our ambition is to digitize our central securities depository and put the €2 trillion of securities we hold onchain,” she said, framing Deutsche Börse as “a bridge between the old traditional world and the new world where we see a huge demand for the tokenization of real world assets.” Leithner highlighted technology intensity , saying about 74% of the group’s computing capacity is in the cloud , and described artificial intelligence as an opportunity unlocked by that cloud migration.

On financial targets, the group reaffirmed growth ambitions introduced in its public strategy documents. Deutsche Börse’s “Leading the Transformation” plan targets an 8% compound annual growth rate in net revenue (excluding treasury result) to about €6.5 billion by 2028, compared with an estimated €5.2 billion in 2025, and foresees a lower cost CAGR of around 3%, translating into stronger EBITDA growth. Chief financial officer Jens Schulte told the capital markets day the group remains committed to meeting its 2026 targets, including €6.4 billion in net revenues for 2026, and set a dividend payout ratio target of 30–40% with a “continuously increasing dividend per share.” The executive board has resolved a €500 million share buyback for 2026 and signalled ongoing regular buybacks alongside a disciplined focus on organic growth.

M&A remains explicitly on the table to complement organic expansion. Deutsche Börse confirmed it is in exclusive discussions over Allfunds, the fund distribution specialist, describing the target as “very exciting” with a commercial and financial fit that is “compelling” and complementary in footprint. Market commentary has noted Deutsche Börse launched a proposal valuing Allfunds at around €5.3 billion, a bid structured partly as cash and partly in shares and reflecting the exchange group’s appetite to consolidate fund services in Europe. Analysts and commentators have also flagged potential regulatory scrutiny given the concentration that such a tie‑up would create in the European fund distribution and services space.

The board said organic growth funded by secular trends is the top capital allocation priority, while acquisitions will be considered if they are strategically and financially attractive. Leithner suggested consolidation in European capital‑markets infrastructure is likely, arguing the continent remains fragmented.

While the plan furthers Deutsche Börse’s earlier Horizon 2026 ambitions , which positioned IMS as a strategic cornerstone after the SimCorp acquisition and targeted strong organic growth , the new strategy emphasises a broader remit: deeper buy‑side engagement, roll‑out of digital‑asset capabilities, tighter cloud‑led technology execution and a blended capital‑returns approach of dividends plus buybacks. The company frames these moves as positioning it to lead industry transformation, though the ultimate success will depend on integration of IMS components, regulatory approvals for any major deals and the pace of market adoption for tokenised and cloud‑native services.