EUROPE - Deutsche Bank is to relocate Deutsche Asset Management’s headquarters to Frankfurt from London amid a revamp that has seen Paul Manduca replaced by Axel Benkner as DeAM’s European chief executive.

Benkner had been responsible for DeAM in Germany when the institutional fund arm merged its office with DWS in 2003. The rejig will also see DeAM refocused onto three areas: institutional funds, mutual funds and alternative investments.

“We felt it made more than enough sense to move the business back to Frankfurt,” said Kevin Parker, head of Deutsche’s asset management activities. He cited the success of Deutsche’s mutual fund arm DWS and asset manager expertise in Frankfurt.

From Frankfurt, a new 14-strong committee headed by Parker will steer Deutsche’s asset management activities, now in three groups.

There will be institutional fixed income and equity (including Deutsche AM).

Then there are mutual funds (including DWS and Scudder of the US). Next are alternative investments – which will include hedge funds, quantitative strategies, real estate and structured products.

The new committee includes Axel Benkner, head of DWS, who has been named co-head of mutual funds and head of Europe. Also on the committee is Oliver Behrens, current head of DeAM in Germany, who takes on the additional role of head of structured products.

Parker also announced that Don King would step down as head of DB Real Estate to assume the position of vice chairman of DeAM.

He also confirmed the expected departures of Asian funds head James Goulding and hedge funds head Josh Weinrich.

The move back to Frankfurt is a response to a loss of mandates at DeAM’s UK institutional business. In the third quarter, that business made up the lion’s share of the 13 billion euros in assets which DeAM lost as a whole. In addition, the UK business has seen a number of top executives leave.

Parker told the news conference that the UK business “was currently under review,” adding that the results of the review would be disclosed at the end of the first quarter in 2005.

Asked whether job cuts were part of his restructuring, Parker replied that no decisions had been made yet. Analysts believe that Deutsche could cut up to 1,900 back-office jobs in investment banking and asset management as it struggles to meet bold profit targets.

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