DWS Makes Strategic Investment in its Alternatives Distribution Platform to Expand the Reach of its Real Estate Expertise to the Retail Market

Investment bolsters DWS’s efforts to provide individual investors greater access to its broad portfolio of Alternatives products

• The expanded distribution team will leverage DWS’s 50-year track record of delivering real estate solutions to retail and institutional clients through DWS’s RREEF America platform

DWS Group, a global asset manager and one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers, today announced it is making a strategic investment in its Americas Alternatives distribution platform to make its real estate products more widely available to the retail market. The investment is part of a longer-term initiative to provide retail investors with access to DWS’s broad Alternatives platform. DWS expects new products to be announced over time. The initiative is driven by increased client demand in the retail market for Alternatives products that provide diversification, preservation of capital and risk adjusted performance.

DWS is building a dedicated team, as well as adding external and internal sales expertise to support its growth strategy. The sales team will be led by industry veteran and DWS’s Head of Alternatives Distribution, US Wholesale, Brian Maute.

The growth initiative will initially focus on DWS’s America’s retail products of institutionally managed real estate strategies sponsored by DWS’s RREEF America. The new America’s based sales team will work alongside DWS’s more than 500-person global Alternatives investment team with expertise investing in real estate, infrastructure, private equity and sustainable investments. The new sales team will be responsible for building greater awareness for the firm’s Alternatives products as investors seek to have the same institutional qualities in the retail space, and as these investments continue to take up a more significant part of investors’ asset allocations.

Expanding the firm’s presence in the retail channel is a natural progression for DWS’s Alternatives group, a long-time institutional investment leader with EUR 115 billion in assets under management, and a more than 50-year heritage as a fiduciary manager of real estate investments.

“Real estate has the potential for many investors’ current needs, such as an alternative to bonds, an inflation mitigator and a source of tax-advantaged income,” said Maute. “We feel at this point in the market cycle it is the right time to be expanding our Alternatives practice to meet the broader shift taking place in the industry of providing alternative strategies to the everyday investor. I look forward to building the team and working with some of the industry’s brightest minds who share a collective interest in further establishing DWS as a leader in Alternatives investing.”

DWS has experienced significant growth in the strength of its Alternatives business, garnering inflows of EUR 6 billion globally in 2021. The firm will build upon this success by utilizing its institutional investment heritage to work closely with the financial advisor community to provide the education and solutions they need to better serve their clients.

Anne-Marie Vandenberg, CEO of RREEF Property Trust, added, “In building out the DWS Alternatives team, we are excited to highlight the merits of our Alternatives business and the various solutions we bring to financial professionals and their clients.”

Note to Editors:

To learn more about DWS’s Alternatives business, please visit www.dws.com.

About DWS Group

DWS Group (DWS) is one of the world's leading asset managers with USD 1.05 trillion of assets under management (as of 31 December 2021). Building on more than 60 years of experience, it has a reputation for excellence in Germany, Europe, the Americas and Asia. DWS is recognized by clients globally as a trusted source for integrated investment solutions, stability and innovation across a full spectrum of investment disciplines.

We offer individuals and institutions access to our strong investment capabilities across all major liquid and illiquid asset classes as well as solutions aligned to growth trends. Our diverse expertise in Active, Passive and Alternatives asset management – as well as our deep environmental, social and governance focus – complement each other when creating targeted solutions for our clients. Our expertise and on-the-ground knowledge of our economists, research analysts and investment professionals are brought together in one consistent global CIO View, giving strategic guidance to our investment approach.

DWS wants to innovate and shape the future of investing. We understand that, both as a corporate as well as a trusted advisor to our clients, we have a crucial role in helping navigate the transition to a more sustainable future. With approximately 3,600 employees in offices all over the world, we are local while being one global team. We are committed to acting on behalf of our clients and investing with their best interests at heart so that they can reach their financial goals, no matter what the future holds. With our entrepreneurial, collaborative spirit, we work every day to deliver outstanding investment results, in both good and challenging times. We are investors for a new now – entrusted to build the best foundation for our clients’ financial future.

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