Deutsche Bank’s DWS sees more outflows in Q2

Bloomberg

Deutsche Bank AG’s asset management unit saw outflows for a second consecutive quarter, marking an abrupt end to a period of growth that saw assets under management touch a record last year.
DWS group’s clients pulled $25.4 billion in the three-month period, according to a statement. That missed the 403.3 million-euro consensus of inflows forecast by analysts polled by Bloomberg. Assets under management falls to 833 billion euros from 902 billion euros from the previous quarter.
The outflows, totalling 26 billion euros through first half of 2022, show a reversal from a period of sustained growth under ex-chief executive, Asoka Woehrmann, which saw assets under management surge to almost 928 billion euros in the fourth quarter last year.
The results cover a period during which the firm grappled with a worsening
economic environment.
and the departure of its chief executive.
Woehrmann announced his resignation soon after a police raid on DWS’s headquarters in Frankfurt on May 31 over allegations that the asset manager overstated its sustainability capabilities to investors.
“It has been an eventful quarter,” Claire Peel, DWS’s chief financial officer, said in a telephone interview. “The macro environment has been very challenging, with the backdrop of war in Ukraine and the inflationary picture.”
Stefan Hoops, who was previously head of the German lender’s corporate bank, assumed the top role at DWS on June 10. DWS has always denied the greenwashing allegations, which were first made by former Chief Sustainability Officer Desiree Fixler, and DWS Group Supervisory Board Chairman Karl von Rohr pledged last month to keep the asset manager focused on sustainability.
The firm launched an exchange-traded fund last month that tracks companies taking steps to transition to net-zero carbon emissions.
The outflows this quarter at DWS were largely focused on liquid cash products, Peel said. While higher-margin actively managed and alternative funds remained resilient even in a worsening economic environment, she added. Active equity funds and alternatives pulled in 700 million euros and 1.6 billion euros respectively, according to the statement.
DWS is down more than 25% in Frankfurt trading this year.