DWS International GmbH

Stefan Hoops serves as CEO and oversees the overall investment strategy. Iken Gwanz takes the Chief Investment Officer role, responsible for the active investing team and portfolio construction. Claire Peel is Chief Operating Officer, managing operational functions. The alternatives platform reports separately under a dedicated leadership team.

DWS draws on a global network of real estate and infrastructure sponsors, primary market relationships developed over decades as a European anchor investor, and its own origination team in private credit and private equity. The firm's scale — €203B in alternatives — gives it direct access to institutional partnership opportunities rather than relying solely on fund-of-funds intermediaries.

DWS International GmbH is a publicly traded asset manager, listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since March 2018 under the ticker DWS. It is majority-owned by Deutsche Bank AG. It operates with a corporate governance structure, not a family-office model, serving institutional and retail clients globally.

DWS makes both primary fund commitments and direct co-investments across its alternatives platform. In private equity, it typically invests via commingled funds and separate accounts for institutional clients. In infrastructure and real estate, it frequently structures direct deals or club deals alongside co-investors.

DWS targets a broad range of stages in its alternative strategies: core and core-plus real estate, greenfield and brownfield infrastructure, direct lending and private credit across middle market and large corporate segments, and private equity buyouts and venture capital. The firm's alternatives book spans both growth-stage and mature assets.

Under its ESG integration policy, DWS excludes direct investment in coal mining, oil sands, controversial weapons, and tobacco. The firm also applies additional exclusion criteria on certain sovereign bonds based on governance and human rights scores, as outlined in its sustainability report.

DWS was formed from Deutsche Bank's asset management division and was spun out as a separate legal entity in 2018 via an IPO. Deutsche Bank retains a 78% stake. The separation allows DWS to operate with its own board, strategy, and balance sheet, while still benefiting from Deutsche Bank's distribution and client relationships.