DWS Group GmbH & Co KGaA DWS.DE

DWS GROUP GMBH & CO KGAA (DWS:DE) is Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm. Founded in 1956 and based in Frankfurt, DWS was acquired by Deutsche Bank, one of Europe’s (and the world’s) biggest banks, in 2004.

The company was independently listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange in June 2018 and admitted to the SDAX – Germany’s small cap benchmark index. However, Deutsche Bank retained an 80% ownership stake in DWS after its IPO. The unit makes a tangible return on equity of at least 20%, as compared to the wider Deutsche Bank group’s 8%.

At the time of DWS’s IPO, the company managed almost €700 million in assets. As well as its Frankfurt on Main head office, DWS has a presence in London, New York and Hong Kong. In addition to DWS Group’s asset management brand, the company also manages the RREEF real estate and alternative investment funds as well as the Xtrackers-branded ETFs.

In an industry where economies of scale matter, in 2019, DWS was exploring a merger with UBS Group’s asset manager but a deal was complicated by the fact that parent company, Deutsche Bank was unwilling to give up control of the company.

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