The new chief executive of DWS has taken to social media to defend the asset manager over what he says is “critical reporting” of its results and wider strategy by the media.
“While I should take critical reports about DWS Group on the chin, the competitor in me is getting the upper hand every now and then,” Stefan Hoops wrote in a LinkedIn post on August 11.
Hoops said he took issue with media coverage suggesting some staff “seemed ready to leave” DWS.
“Let’s check the facts: We have not seen an uptick in attrition and our colleagues are fully focused on #ClientsMarketsInvesting. To be specific, we have had no resignations among our top 200 talent in the last two months and our investment division is stable,” Hoops wrote.
Hoops took over as chief executive in June following the resignation of Asoka Woehrmann, after German authorities raided the Frankfurt offices of DWS and Deutsche Bank – also its majority shareholder – in connection with allegations of greenwashing. against the asset manager.
TO READ DWS boss resigns after raid on Frankfurt offices
The LinkedIn post is the latest in a series of outbursts from Hoops since becoming CEO. Others include a recent video interview with former American basketball player Robert Horry as part of DWS’s sponsorship of the Los Angeles Lakers.
He has also interacted with Desiree Fixler, DWS’s former head of sustainability, who claimed the company had exaggerated how much it used sustainable investment criteria to manage its assets.
In a post, Fixler said he wanted Hoops to disclose whether new and existing board members were involved in any meetings in 2021 with Karl von Rohr, chairman of the DWS supervisory board, that discussed or reviewed his concerns on DWS’s approach to ESG.
“Oh, and I’m still happy to make that call or meeting,” he added in another post.
Hoops replied: “Hi Desiree, thanks for reaching out on (social) media. Let’s use the proper channels please.”
TO READ DWS chief executive says allegations of greenwashing and personal attacks were a burden, “especially for my family”.
Hoops, previously head of Deutsche Bank’s corporate bank, also criticized how the appointment of two new members to its executive board, one of whom is Deutsche Bank’s senior adviser, was interpreted as a sign that DWS was becoming more dependent on his father.
“That interpretation couldn’t be more wrong,” Hoops said.
“In fact, it’s the other way around… We are only independent when we have our own platform and a specific framework for AM,” he said, adding that the two new board appointments will help achieve this.
The CEO also responded to reports citing “massive exits in the second quarter”, after the asset manager released its results on 27 July.
In the results, DWS recorded €25 billion in net outflows during the second quarter. However, the asset manager said these were mainly driven by its low-margin cash products. Excluding them, DWS said outflows would have totaled €300 million over the three-month period.
Meanwhile, revenues decreased by 3% quarter-on-quarter to 671 million euros.
To contact the author of this story with comments or news, please email David Ricketts
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