The organisation, one of the largest asset managers in Europe, and which operates in Asia and the Americas, sets out its goals on cost margins, earnings and AuM growth rates over the next three years.

Germany’s DWS Group, which operated within Deutsche Bank before listing as a separate unit in 2018, has set out earnings, cost, and performance targets out to 2025.

The firm, which oversees €833 billion ($875 billion) of assets under management (as of 30 September 2022), plans to shift about €70 million into growth areas over the next three years.

“DWS aims to maintain the company’s leading position in Germany, and to further address upside potential in Europe from building additional partnerships, deploying Xtrackers (passive) and leveraging its alternatives capabilities to participate in the European transformation,” it said. 

“In the Americas, DWS aims to grow Xtrackers and its alternatives business and in Asia-Pacific, the company wants to focus on strong strategic partnerships,” it continued. 

The business is targeting earnings per share of €4.50 by 2025; an adjusted cost-income ratio of under 59 per cent by that date, with cumulative run-rate efficiencies of about €100 million by 2025; it wants to have a passives asset under management growth rate of more than 12 per cent by 2025; and in its alternative assets business, it is targeting a growth rate of more than 10 per cent. It also wants to have an extraordinary dividend of up to €1.0 billion in 2024, subject to capital commitment to organic and inorganic growth initiatives, and achieve a proposed dividend pay-out ratio of around 65 per cent from 2025 onwards.

“We will execute a disciplined portfolio optimisation by utilising our capabilities to the full extent, maintaining and growing our areas of strength, and investing in promising future areas. We are committed to self-funding our changes by reallocating financial resources freed up by divestments, delayering, and cost initiatives,” Stefan Hoops, CEO of DWS, said.  

“In a favourable environment for the asset management industry, we have delivered well against our targets since our IPO in 2018. As the environment is becoming increasingly uncertain, we are very well positioned to cater to the evolving needs of our clients for differentiated advice and local expertise, as well as their continuing need for superior investment performance,” Hoops said.

As markets have turned more uncertain, DWS said it expects to see a rebirth of active fund management, with a focus on selection capabilities to win superior returns (aka “Alpha”).