Bankhaus Ellwanger & Geiger

The bank is led by Managing Directors Dr. Volker Gerstenmaier and Marcus Vitt, who oversee both the balance-sheet investment strategy and client co-investment decisions. The partnership structure means senior management has significant discretion over deal selection, rather than operating through a bureaucratic investment committee. Specific investment team headcount and delegation are not publicly detailed.

It is a licensed private bank, not a family office — it holds a full German banking license and accepts deposits. However, its investment culture closely resembles a family office or merchant bank: it makes concentrated direct investments rather than offering a broad product shelf. The bank's own balance sheet is deployed alongside client capital, aligning its interests with those of the entrepreneurs and wealthy families it serves.

Deal flow originates almost entirely from the bank's regional network in Baden-Württemberg. The bank has deep, multi-generational relationships with Mittelstand companies, real estate developers, and intermediaries in Swabia's industrial economy. This sourcing model is relationship-dependent and difficult for larger, more centralized institutions to replicate.

The bank's known activity is concentrated in direct deals — real estate acquisitions, direct equity stakes in companies, and private credit transactions. There is no public evidence of a significant fund-of-funds program or commitments to external private equity managers. Its structure is built around sourcing and structuring investments itself.

Ellwanger & Geiger typically invests directly rather than acting as a co-investor alongside external general partners. It does not promote a formal co-investment program. When it does partner, it is likely to do so with other regional institutions or family offices within its existing network, rather than acting as a passive LP in a managed fund.