Joint Press Release of DekaBank and WestLB:
Cooperation Agreement between DekaBank and WestLB
Compass Funds to be sold through DekaBank
Düsseldorf/Frankfurt: DekaBank and WestLB AG intend to cooperate in the sale of retail asset management products for the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. In a joint statement today, the two banks announced that a joint venture, based in Luxembourg, will be formed. DekaBank will own 51% of the new company, WestLB 49%. The cooperation will enable selected high-performance funds of WestAM Luxembourg´s Compass Fund to be made available to all private clients of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe through the DekaBank network.
DekaBank will assume responsibility for marketing the funds to the Sparkassen. WestAM will continue to be responsible for fund management as well as for marketing to clients outside the Sparkassen private client area.
About DekaBank:
DekaBank Group is the central fund service provider of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. With total assets of € 140 billion under management, it is one of Germany´s leading fund providers across all segments (retail and special funds). In the retail fund business, the “Deka Investmentfonds” brand stands for a wide assortment of approximately 220 products catering to the entire spectrum of investor needs. In the custody business DekaBank Group manages almost 5.3 million investment accounts, over 430,000 of which within the framework of fund-based portfolio management.
About WestAM:
WestAM (WestLB Asset Management) is a globally operating financial services provider in the area of asset management for institutional clients. WestAM is owned by WestLB AG and employs 122 investment specialists at eleven locations in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia. WestAM today manages € 71 billion in assets for over 500 clients worldwide. These include companies, pension funds, investment companies, foundations, banks, central banks, savings banks, government agencies and insurance companies. WestAM KAG, the German branch of the company, was founded in Düsseldorf in 1969. Today it has assets of € 27.5 billion under management and is one of Germany´s leading providers of special funds (September 30, 2005).
Further information is available at www.westam.com