German asset manager DWS is reportedly planning to rebrand the company in a bid to attract more large institutional clients.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Frankfurt-based firm will be known as Deutsche Asset Management, reflecting its status as the asset management of Deutsche Bank.
The rebrand is also designed to capitalise on the global brand recognition of its parent company at a time when the institutional asset management market is facing increased competition and consolidation.
2026 has seen Nuveen bid $13.5 billion to acquire Schroders while Janus Henderson was the subject of an $8 billion bid from Train and General Catalyst
DWS, originally known as Die Wertpapier Spezialisten, was acquired by Deutsche Bank in 2006. It is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after it was spun off from the bank in 2018 – a move that was designed to emphasise the asset manager’s independence.
Deutsche Bank owns around 80% of the stock but there are no plans to buy up the remaining stock and take the company private.
Furthermore, the DWS brand will be retained in Germany. But for the rest of its international business, the asset manager will be known as Deutsche Asset Management – a branding strategy employed by fellow bank-based asset managers such as JP Morgan Asset Management, UBS Asset Management and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
A spokesman quoted by Bloomberg said DWS is looking to “increase global brand awareness, sharpen the standing of our brands and better leverage our unique position as separately listed bank owned asset manager”.
However, the report added that no decision has yet been taken and DWS currently remains a “separately listed entity with its own strategy, leadership and governance”.
