AUSTRIA - HSBC Investments is setting up shop in Austria's capital Vienna under former DWS sales head Franz Bartmann.

Bartmann had left DWS Austria last autumn to join HSBC Investments Germany. Together with former DWS PR manager Andrea Pelz, who had followed him to HSBC, he will head up HSBC Investments Austria.

The new company is hoping to get the supervisor's final approval by the end of the month.

The second managing director is Walter Gleissinger, who also heads the relationship management at  HSBC Bank.

By year-end, HSBC Austria wants to increase the team to five people by recruiting a head of  institutional sales and an assistant to Gleissinger, HSBC Austria confirmed to IPE.

"A local presence and local staff will help HSBC Investments to better understand the clients' needs," HSBC noted, citing the group's motto "The World's Local Bank".

Currently 50 HSBC investment funds are licensed for sale in Austria.

With this local branch, HSBC wants to offer equity and bond products including-inflation linked bonds and the SAF Global Bond Market Neutral Strategies to institutional investors as well as financial intermediaries such as banks and financial advisers.

The new company will offer bespoke products such as asset liability management, structured products or overlay management.

The portfolio management will be undertaken by one of HSBC's partner boutiques including Halbis Capital Management, Sinopia, HSBC Multimanager, HSBC Global Liquidity and HSBC Alternative Investments.

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