Wirecard was literally a fraud. €1.9bn of cash just didn’t exist. Yet it was in the All-World ETF and even the German DAX.
How does a company that was basically fake end up inside global index funds that millions of people passively invest in?
I understand ETFs just track market cap and liquidity, not quality. Auditors signed it off, regulators missed it, and on paper it looked legit. Still, it feels uncomfortable for passive investors.
Do people think something like Wirecard could happen again, or have safeguards genuinely improved since then?