DWS Group Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hoops said the asset manager continued to see strong inflows in July and August, bolstering the firm’s rebound after after almost €20 billion flowed out last year.
(Bloomberg) — DWS Group Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hoops said the asset manager continued to see strong inflows in July and August, bolstering the firm’s rebound after after almost €20 billion flowed out last year.
The firm’s Xtrackers product “had a very solid July, August was the first time we were number 1 in Europe, beating competitors from the US in our home territory,” Hoops told Bloomberg TV’s Anna Edwards during an interview at Bloomberg’s Future of Finance conference in Frankfurt.
For the first half, “when you look at our inflows as a percentage of assets under management we were actually the number one asset manager globally,” he added.
Hoops, who took over in the middle of last year, has been revamping the firm’s management and cutting costs in a bid to restore confidence after clients pulled funds amid allegations of greenwashing. He’s vowed to channel more investments into the alternatives unit and the exchange-traded funds arm.
Read More: DWS Recovery Gathers Pace With €9.3 Billion More in Inflows
Hoops said DWS’s expansion focus in private credit will be in Europe. Despite the growth of the market in US, DWS would likely be a “tourist” there, unlikely to see opportunities that their competitors are not also seeing. DWS is looking at all options to grow in private credit, but focusing for the moment on organic opportunities, he added.
DWS disclosed in July that it has set aside €27 million to help settle allegations of greenwashing following two years of investigations by various law enforcement agencies. The firm is in advanced resolution discussions with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, though the final outcome is yet to be concluded, DWS has said.
Read More: Deutsche Bank’s DWS Earmarks €27 Million Mostly for ESG Fine
Hoops declined to discuss the allegations DWS has been facing around greenwashing and its sustainability investment approach. But he said that over the last 15 months since the German prosecutor visited their premises, “the world has learned a lot about disclosures” around sustainability. The arena of investing in sustainability has become too politicized and more could be done if there was less a political focus, he said.
–With assistance from Steven Arons.
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