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DWS Group

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DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA
Company typeGmbH & Co. KGaA
FWB: DWS
SDAX Component
ISINDE000DWS1007
IndustryInvestment management
Founded1956; 68 years ago (1956)
Headquarters
Mainzer Landstraße 11-17, Frankfurt
,
Germany
Key people
Stefan Hoops (CEO)
ProductsMutual Funds
ETFs
Alternative Investments
RevenueIncrease €2.603 billion (FY 2023)
Increase €553 million (FY 2023)
AUM€933 billion (30 June 2024)
Total assetsIncrease €11.68 billion (FY 2023)
Total equityIncrease €7.82 billion (FY 2023)
OwnerDeutsche Bank (79.49%)
Number of employees
4,378 (FY 2023)
Websitedws.com
Footnotes / references
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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

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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.[2][3] 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]

In 2022, Asoka Wöhrmann resigned from his post of CEO after the company's offices in Frankfurt were raided by police.[13] He was replaced by Stefan Hoops who was previously head of the corporate bank at Deutsche Bank.[13]

Controversies

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Sustainable investing

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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.[14] As a result of the probe, German regulators began investigating Deutsche Bank president Karl von Rohr's role in the DWS.[15]

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.[16][17]

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. [18] 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.[19]

Sponsorships

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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]

References

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  1. ^ "Annual Report 2023". DWS.
  2. ^ a b "Asset Manager: Deutsche Bank ready to spin off DWS fund manager in IPO". www.handelsblatt.com. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b Meredith, Sam (23 March 2018). "Shares of Deutsche Bank's DWS edge higher in stock market debut". CNBC. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. ^ "60 Years of Asset Management". funds.dws.com. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  5. ^ Müller, Martin L. (2006). DWS-Investments: eine Erfolgsgeschichte 1956 – 2006. Piper Verlag. p. 26. ISBN 3492049435.
  6. ^ "Deutsche Bank Annual Report 2004 - Acquisitions and Divestitures". annualreport.deutsche-bank.com. Retrieved 1 March 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ "DWS übernimmt Fondsverwaltung von RREEF". www.fondsprofessionell.de (in German). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Deutsche Bank Annual Report 2012 - Asset & Wealth Management". annualreport.deutsche-bank.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  9. ^ Ricketts, David (25 October 2015). "Deutsche splits asset and wealth management". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Deutsche asset management to rebrand as DWS, plans KGaA structure". Reuters. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  11. ^ MarketScreener. "DWS GROUP GMBH & CO. KGAA : Shareholders Board Members Managers and Company Profile | DE000DWS1007 | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  12. ^ "DWS Group Names New CEO". Institutional Investor. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  13. ^ a b "DWS chief resigns after police raid over greenwashing claims". Financial Times. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Fired executive says Deutsche Bank's DWS overstated sustainable-investing efforts". The Wall Street Journal. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Deutsche Bank Contacted by Regulator Over Von Rohr's Role at DWS". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  16. ^ Michaels, Patricia Kowsmann, Corinne Ramey and Dave (25 August 2021). "WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. Authorities Probing Deutsche Bank's DWS Over Sustainability Claims". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 11 September 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Taylor, Chloe (26 August 2021). "US authorities investigating Deutsche Bank's DWS Group over sustainable investing claims: WSJ". CNBC. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Deutsche Bank Subsidiary DWS to Pay $25M for ESG Misstatements, Anti-Money Laundering Violations". MarketWatch. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  19. ^ Storbeck, Olaf; Palma, Stefania (25 September 2023). "Deutsche Bank's DWS to pay $25mn to settle SEC probes". Financial Times. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Villa lose their shirt sponsors". the Guardian. 20 January 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
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