Frankfurt A look at the schedule shows how much the raid and the promptly announced farewell to CEO Asoka Wöhrmann shook up the plans of the fund company DWS: Actually, the speeches by the chairman of the supervisory board, Karl von Rohr and Wöhrmann, should have been about a week before the shareholders’ meeting on June 9th are to be published. Only on Tuesday night and on Tuesday afternoon did the Deutsche Bank subsidiary put the speech manuscripts aside.
Wöhrmann’s departure should now be accompanied by changes that should go beyond Stefan Hoops’ choice as the new DWS boss, Karl von Rohr indicated in his speech.
Deutsche Bank, which controls DWS, does not want to shake the important cornerstones of the strategy – the financial goals, organic but also inorganic growth, a focus on sustainability and the stock exchange listing of DWS. “At the same time, Stefan Hoops and his management must and will of course have the task of reviewing the strategy and setting additional new priorities in the coming weeks and months,” emphasized von Rohr.
Hectic change at the top
From the point of view of some investors, who did not want to comment publicly on this, the hectic change at the top of DWS was overdue anyway. Because in the past few months, the fund company had primarily had to contend with allegations and official investigations.
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the financial regulator Bafin and the Federal Criminal Police Office are currently investigating DWS. It’s about the question of whether the fund company has presented products more sustainable than they were. That was also the reason for a raid last week.
In addition, the bank is investigating whether Wöhrmann violated internal rules when using private e-mails and chats. In addition, there are contacts with a controversial businessman.
>>>Read also: “A slap in the office”: Raid shocks employees of Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS
However, neither von Rohr nor Wöhrmann admitted serious mistakes from the past in the two speech manuscripts. At best, between the lines, the head of the supervisory board, Karl von Rohr, shimmered through that Deutsche Bank ultimately considered the DWS boss to be a burden.
Because the allegations, accusations, rumors and anonymous personal threats that existed were no longer just a burden for Wöhrmann himself and his family, but also for “DWS as a whole”. “In order to protect our company and his family, Asoka Wöhrmann is now clearing the way for a fresh start at the head of DWS,” says von Rohr.
DWS and Wöhrmann had always denied the allegations themselves. In his farewell speech, Wöhrmann once again defended himself against the allegations, in particular against the greenwashing allegations by the former head of sustainability, Desiree Fixler. “The topic of sustainability is far too significant and far too important for us to be okay with the fact that individuals use it to derive personal benefits from it,” says Wöhrmann.
At best, he only expressed self-criticism very indirectly when he said with regard to the DWS sustainability strategy: “We never made a secret of the fact that it would be an effort. We also never said that we were already there.”
However, many investors took the allegations more seriously, especially since they are now the subject of official investigations. Since Fixler went public with it in August last year, the DWS price has lost almost a quarter of its value. The correction in the DWS share price since the end of August 2021 is “frustrating and not justified,” said Wöhrmann.
Allegations against Wöhrmann left their mark
But the allegations against him have left their mark, Wöhrmann admits – “however unfounded or untenable they all may be”. It was with a heavy heart that he agreed with the company to step down as CEO. I would like to give DWS, but also myself, a new start.”
Deutsche Bank had long held on to Wöhrmann as DWS boss and defended him even more recently. For this reason, there had also been growing criticism of the chairman of the supervisory board, Karl von Rohr, who is also the deputy head of Deutsche Bank. In his speech, von Rohr justified the work of the supervisory board in detail: he reported on the first greenwashing investigation that the committee had set up after Fixler’s allegations, and which did not come to a negative result.
And he reported that there has been a temporary special committee of the Supervisory Board since the third quarter, which was informed weekly by the Management Board on sustainability issues. “Up until now, no circumstances have arisen from this that would have required a separate examination by the Supervisory Board or given cause to intervene,” said von Rohr, referring to the raid.
But von Rohr also said: “We will draw clear consequences if misconduct is found here or elsewhere.” But so far the presumption of innocence has applied, he emphasizes. He defends himself “against any form of prejudice”.
More: About questionable congratulations to the future DWS boss Hoops