Group of 8 on Deutsche external A-list

Yuri Bender reveals the fund companies on Deutsche Bank’s roll of preferred product providers. The private and business client department of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt has chosen an inner circle of eight external fund companies. PWM has learned that Deutsche’s new A-list of partners consists of: Alliance Capital, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Schroders and UBS. The funds of these preferred providers will be sold, backed by qualified advice and market information, to clients including personal banking customers. Funds of external managers including Fidelity and Invesco have been sold to clients since last year. Both groups claimed to have struck deals with the bank, but Deutsche insiders said the focus was on the funds, as part of a special marketing campaign, rather than the providers. Gartmore and JP Morgan have also previously been linked with Deutsche. They are covered by a broader range of looser agreements. Deutsche’s private banking arm has offered advice and third party funds since 1991, but only for the top tier of wealthy customers. The new agreements, steered by Deutsche’s chief executive officer Rainer Neske, have streamlined the 130 companies used into a “guided architecture” model. Bank sources insist that DWS, Deutsche’s internal funds company, is also included in the new model. Axel Benkner, head of DWS, told PWM that sales of his funds through Deutsche channels dried up last year, when external managers were introduced. Bank sources say sales of DWS funds to private clients remain high. Achim Küssner, head of German sales at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, confirmed his group was selected. “This marks the introduction of open architecture, but in a slow and very controlled fashion. This deal will be followed by other banks, who will choose a selection of eight to 12 asset managers to focus their efforts on.”