01/07/2009
DWS to cut back "core" product range by only one third
The 100 funds which DWS is planning to merge or close in the next twelve months will come from the German assemanagement firm’s “core” range of 300 products, it says. There is thus no danger that the asset manager will reduce its 500-product range to 200, as some media sources were reporting; rather, the firm will reduce its product range by one third (from 300 to 200), to eliminate redundancies, for example, products inherited from Zürich Investments, and to liquidate funds which have a limited future, in order to let the product line “breathe.” The firm’s 500 products on sale in Europe include white-label products as well as funds distributed exclusively by the Deutsche Bank network, guaranteed funds, and funds available from private banks. Since the beginning of the year, DWS has announced only 20 closures or mergers.
