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Since the beginning of May, Frankfurt-Trust has been history. The new owner, the French private bank ODDO, merged the fund depository of BHF Bank into ODDO BHF Asset Management. With this, the banker Philþe Oddo closed another chapter of his research expansion in Germany. After the Paris-based bank acquired Bank Close Brothers Seydler and the Düsseldorf-based asset manager Meriten, it fought a bidding war with a Chinese conglomerate over BHF Bank. In the end, the French won the competition. [...] Now that the merger has also been formally completed, the French have announced their more concrete plans for the combined Gallic-German investment group with 300 employees.

A core message : The location at the Main metropolis is to be significantly upgraded. 

"We are developing Frankfurt into our centre for mutual funds in Germany. [...] Our expertise is now spread across three investment centres. [...] At the Düsseldorf location, the focus is on fixed-interest investments. Frankfurt, on the other hand, is becoming our mainstay for multi-asset and quantitative equity strategies."

ODDO BHF Asset Management
Head of Department
Nicolas Chaput

The management of around one billion euros in assets under management is to be transferred from France and Luxembourg to Germany. Karl Stäcker, previously CEO of Frankfurt-Trust and now member of the management of ODDO BHF AM, adds:

"Quantitative strategies are becoming more effective. We have proven expertise in this area. Multi-factor strategies are being pursued in Frankfurt and individual factor strategies in Düsseldorf. We are combining this wealth of experience and offer factor investments 'Made in Germany',"

ODDO BHF Asset Management
Member of the Management 
Karl Stäcker

According to the combined company, it now manages 61 billion euros, the greater part in Germany. According to the industry association BVI, Frankfurt-Trust alone managed around twelve billion euros in Germany, of which eight billion euros were in mutual funds. 

Chaput also wants to open-up completely new fields. One is alternative strategies that rely on unlisted investments. “For example, we are preparing the construction of the a Private-Debt platform", explains the head of Asset Management. "We expect to locate it in Frankfurt." However, the final decision has not yet been made. Vice-Manager Stäcker adds: "In the industry it is often the principle: The winner takes it all in. Therefore, we must enter new fields early, also in the field of alternative strategies."

Another new development is a big data fund. This should filter signals for investment decisions from the data streams circulating around the globe. ODDO BHF cooperates with an excellent service provider. 

“We are an innovative company. Our incentive is always to bring new ideas to the market", Chaput merely says. In any case, the company attaches great importance to being at the cutting edge of technology. In Asset Management, all units will be merged into a common IT platform. With this, the company wants to position itself lean and quick-witted. 

Nevertheless, the French want to gain further volume - in order to be prepared for the upheavals facing the asset management industry. “We intend to have as many flagships as possible in our product range," Chaput calls out as a goal. 

SOURCE : FONDS professionnel Deutschland

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