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Mercurion
Mercurion launched in 2001 when Dirk Schröllkamp, a former senior advisor at Dresdner Bank Vermögensberatung, partnered with ex-Dresdner colleagues Alexander...
Mercurion
Mercurion launched in 2001 when Dirk Schröllkamp, a former senior advisor at Dresdner Bank Vermögensberatung, partnered with ex-Dresdner colleagues Alexander Tanke, Frank Kühn and Birgit Theile to form an owner-operated advisory firm. Based in Munich with additional offices in Meerbusch, Hamburg and Nienburg, the firm serves high-net-worth individuals and entrepreneurial families across Germany, emphasizing multi-generational planning and independence from product providers. The firm structures client portfolios across liquid securities, real estate and alternative investments. On the alternatives side, Mercurion specializes in sourcing closed-end funds and private-placement vehicles that it says were previously accessible only to institutional investors such as foundations, sovereign wealth funds and pension schemes. Its real estate arm, mercurion real estate GmbH, arranges financing and mezzanine capital for project developments. The advisory team includes several Certified Financial Planners; the firm publicly stresses its neutrality and refusal to accept product-based commissions. Mercurion operates from four German locations. Its senior ranks draw heavily from Dresdner Bank's old private-wealth division: co-founder Alexander Tanke and senior partners Frank Kühn and Birgit Theile all held client-facing roles there during the 1990s. In Hamburg, advisor Stephan Specht arrived in 2013 after a decade in private banking at Swiss institutions, while senior consultant Doris Kiel — a former UBS private-banking team head — joined in 2012. The firm also operates a small foundation advisory practice under Kiel, who holds a certification from the Deutsche Stiftungsakademie. Mercurion's architecture differs from most German asset managers in its partnership model: senior advisors hold equity stakes in the related real estate company rather than acting as pure employees. That structure, combined with a self-imposed code of honor and a stated reliance on client referrals, makes the firm resemble a multi-family network more than a standard wealth manager — though it reports no published AUM and discloses no underlying wealth source.
General information
Firm type
Generalist
Year founded
2001
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Germany
City
Munich
Corporate office
Munich, Germany
Additional offices
Meerbusch · Hamburg · Nienburg
Principals
Dirk Schröllkamp
Founder and Managing Director
Alexander Tanke
Co-founder and Senior Partner
Frequently asked questions
What does Mercurion actually do for clients?
Mercurion operates as an owner-managed financial advisory firm for wealthy German families and entrepreneurs. It covers liquid securities, real estate financing and, most distinctively, alternative investments via closed-end funds and private placements. The firm states it seeks out vehicles previously reserved for institutional investors, then makes them accessible to private clients on a cost-conscious basis.
Who runs investment decisions at Mercurion?
Founder Dirk Schröllkamp serves as managing director of mercurion Asset Management GmbH. Co-founder Alexander Tanke and senior partners Frank Kühn and Birgit Theile — all former Dresdner Bank private-wealth advisors — shape client strategy alongside Hamburg-based senior consultants Stephan Specht and Doris Kiel. The firm operates specialist teams for securities and for direct participations.
Where does Mercurion's underlying wealth come from?
Mercurion does not manage a single-family pool of capital. The firm was founded by practitioners from Dresdner Bank's high-net-worth unit and serves external clients: wealthy individuals, professionals, and business-owning families across Germany. No founding-family wealth origin has been disclosed.
Is Mercurion a multi-family office?
The firm calls itself an asset manager and an owner-operated advisory company, not a multi-family office. Its partnership structure, reliance on client referrals and long-tenor relationships give it some characteristics of a family-office network, but it is organized as an independent financial planning and asset-consulting practice rather than a consolidated MFO.
Does Mercurion participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Mercurion sources closed-end funds and other alternative vehicles for its clients, effectively acting as a gatekeeper to external fund managers. Its own real estate affiliate, mercurion real estate GmbH, arranges direct financing and mezzanine capital for property developments, but the core advisory model is fund access rather than direct company investing.
Why are so many Mercurion partners former Dresdner Bank advisors?
Founder Dirk Schröllkamp worked as a senior advisor at Dresdner Bank Vermögensberatung from 1996 to 2001 before leaving to establish Mercurion. Co-founder Alexander Tanke and senior partners Frank Kühn and Birgit Theile held similar roles there during the same era. The group effectively spun out a team of private-wealth bankers to build an independent practice.
Does Mercurion maintain a philanthropic or foundation advisory practice?
Yes, though small. Doris Kiel, a senior financial consultant based in Hamburg, holds a certification from the Deutsche Stiftungsakademie and advises clients on foundation creation and ongoing foundation management. The firm describes the service as part of its multi-generational planning offering.
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