DWS Group explained

DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA
Type:GmbH & Co. KGaA
Traded As:
SDAX Component
Industry:Investment management
Products:Mutual Funds
ETFs
Alternative Investments
Hq Location City:Mainzer Landstraße 11-17, Frankfurt
Hq Location Country:Germany
Revenue: 2.720 billion (FY 2021)
Net Income: €782 million (FY 2021)
Aum:€859 billion (30 June 2023)
Assets: €11.61 billion (FY 2021)
Equity: €7.45 billion (FY 2021)
Owner:Deutsche Bank (79.49%)
Num Employees:3,600 (FY 2021)
Key People:Stefan Hoops (CEO)
Footnotes:[1]

The DWS Group (Formerly: Deutsche Asset Management) commonly referred to as DWS, is a German asset management company. It previously operated as part of Deutsche Bank until 2018 where it became a separate entity through an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.[2] [3] It is currently headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany and is a constituent member of the SDAX index.

History

DWS was founded in Hamburg in 1956 as "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Wertpapiersparen mbH" (German Enterprise for Securities Savings), the name was later shortened to DWS, "Die Wertpapier Spezialisten" (The Fund Specialists). Originally, the activities involved products and investment services that were initially offered to investors in Germany and throughout Europe. Activities under the DWS Investments brand were later expanded to include separate line-ups of products and investments services for investors in the USA, Asia and other regions.[4]

Originally Deutsche Bank held 30% of DWS while the rest was held by other financial institutions.[5] However, by 2004, DWS was wholly owned by Deutsche Bank.[6]

In 2009, DWS took control over Rosenberg Real Estate Equity Funds (RREEF) which was also owned by Deutsche Bank.[7]

In 2012, Deutsche Bank announced the establishment of its Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) division which DWS was fully integrated into.[8] The DWS brand name was retained as the name for the German retail business. However, in 2015, AWM was split into Deutsche Asset Management and Deutsche Bank Wealth Management.[9]

In 2017, Deutsche Asset Management was rebranded to DWS with Deutsche Bank planning to publicly list a minority stake of it.[10]

In 2018, DWS was spun off as a separate company through an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. However, despite being a separate company, the majority of DWS shares are still held by Deutsche Bank at 79.49%.[11]

In October 2018, DWS named Asoka Woehermann as the replacement for former CEO Nicolas Moreau.[12]

A DWS annual report in 2020 claimed that half of the company's assets ran through environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria. An internal report contradicted this, and stated that only a small amount of the firm's investments applied ESG.[13] As a result of the probe, German regulators began investigating Deutsche Bank president Karl von Rohr's role in the DWS.[14]

In 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were investigating DWS' claims of sustainable investing.[15] [16]

In September 2023, DWS agreed to pay $25 million to settle the SEC's charges that DWS failed to develop a mutual fund anti-money laundering program and made misstatements regarding its ESG investment process. DWS did not admit or deny the SEC's findings in its settlements.[17] The greenwashing complaint was led by DWS's previous head of ESG, Desiree Fixler. The DWS's "ESG integration policy" labelled €459bn in assets as green. Adjusting the measurement criteria resulted in a 75 per cent fall in assets reported as green.[18]

In 2022, Asoka Wöhrmann resigned from his post of CEO after the company's offices in Frankfurt were raided by police.[19] He was replaced by Stefan Hoops who was previously head of the corporate bank at Deutsche Bank.

Business overview

DWS serves both retail and institutional clients. It has offices in Europe, Asia and the United States.

DWS has 3 main product offerings which are Active Investments, Passive Investments and Alternatives.

Actively managed mutual fund strategies include Equities, Fixed income and Multi-Asset.

Passively managed funds include ETFs and ETCs. They are sold under the Xtrackers brand name.

Alternative investment funds include Private equity, Real estate and Infrastructure investments. The Real Estate funds are sold under the RREEF brand name.

Sponsorships

DWS Investments UK sponsored English professional football club, Aston Villa F.C. from 2004 to 2006. After DWS Investments UK was bought out by Aberdeen Asset Management, DWS decided it would not renew its sponsorship contract as it had no more business links with the UK.[20]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Annual Report 2022 . DWS.
  2. Web site: Asset Manager: Deutsche Bank ready to spin off DWS fund manager in IPO. 1 March 2021. www.handelsblatt.com. en.
  3. Web site: Meredith. Sam. 23 March 2018. Shares of Deutsche Bank's DWS edge higher in stock market debut. 1 March 2021. CNBC. en.
  4. Web site: 60 Years of Asset Management. 1 March 2021. funds.dws.com.
  5. Book: Müller, Martin L.. DWS-Investments: eine Erfolgsgeschichte 1956 – 2006. Piper Verlag. 2006. 3492049435. 26.
  6. Web site: Deutsche Bank Annual Report 2004 - Acquisitions and Divestitures. 1 March 2021. annualreport.deutsche-bank.com.
  7. Web site: DWS übernimmt Fondsverwaltung von RREEF. 1 March 2021. www.fondsprofessionell.de. de.
  8. Web site: Deutsche Bank Annual Report 2012 - Asset & Wealth Management. 1 March 2021. annualreport.deutsche-bank.com. en. 27 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211027060740/https://annualreport.deutsche-bank.com/2012/ar/managementreport/outlook/assetwealthmanagement.html. dead.
  9. Web site: Ricketts. David. 25 October 2015. Deutsche splits asset and wealth management. live. 1 March 2021. www.ft.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20190927101807/https://www.ft.com/content/e1f3d61a-77e4-11e5-933d-efcdc3c11c89 . 27 September 2019 .
  10. News: 5 December 2017 . Deutsche asset management to rebrand as DWS, plans KGaA structure . en . Reuters . 15 July 2023.
  11. Web site: MarketScreener. DWS GROUP GMBH & CO. KGAA : Shareholders Board Members Managers and Company Profile DE000DWS1007 MarketScreener. 1 March 2021. www.marketscreener.com. en.
  12. Web site: DWS Group Names New CEO. 11 September 2021. Institutional Investor. 25 October 2018 . en-gb.
  13. Web site: 1 August 2021. Fired executive says Deutsche Bank's DWS overstated sustainable-investing efforts. 11 September 2021. The Wall Street Journal. en-US.
  14. Web site: Deutsche Bank Contacted by Regulator Over Von Rohr's Role at DWS. 11 September 2021. news.bloomberglaw.com. en.
  15. News: Michaels . Patricia Kowsmann, Corinne Ramey and Dave . 25 August 2021 . WSJ News Exclusive U.S. Authorities Probing Deutsche Bank's DWS Over Sustainability Claims . en-US . Wall Street Journal . 11 September 2021 . 0099-9660.
  16. Web site: Taylor . Chloe . 26 August 2021 . US authorities investigating Deutsche Bank's DWS Group over sustainable investing claims: WSJ . 11 September 2021 . CNBC . en.
  17. Web site: Deutsche Bank Subsidiary DWS to Pay $25M for ESG Misstatements, Anti-Money Laundering Violations . 25 September 2023 . MarketWatch . EN-US.
  18. News: Storbeck . Olaf . Palma . Stefania . 25 September 2023 . Deutsche Bank's DWS to pay $25mn to settle SEC probes . Financial Times . 5 November 2023.
  19. News: 1 June 2022 . DWS chief resigns after police raid over greenwashing claims . Financial Times . 1 June 2022.
  20. Web site: 20 January 2006. Villa lose their shirt sponsors. 1 March 2021. the Guardian. en.