DWS Group, the asset management arm of Deutsche Bank AG, has hired Dan Robinson to lead its EMEA alternative credit business in a new role that aims to push its growth into private credit.
Robinson was most recently the global head of collateralized loan obligations at Man Group Plc and had previously worked at Oaktree Capital Management for more than 12 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will be based in London and report to Paul Kelly, DWS Group’s global head of alternatives.
The hiring comes at a time when the Frankfurt-based money manager is expanding its €114 billion ($125 billion) alternatives franchise and starting its first CLO business — which packages loans into bonds — in Europe, Kelly said in an interview. The company plans to debut its first CLO next year in the continent.
The alternatives unit, which includes private credit, real estate, infrastructure and liquid real assets, is a key part of Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hoops’s growth strategy for DWS, which manages €860 billion in assets. He brought aboard Kelly from Blackstone Inc. last year as part of that effort.
More hirings across the business are expected next year. Robinson will also oversee the firm’s direct lending strategy, which is targeting about $1 billion for European corporate borrowers in private markets, Bloomberg News has reported earlier.
With private lending continuing to boom, Kelly said DWS is leveraging its relationship with both its parent Deutsche Bank and ties to Germany’s regional banks to partner with them and originate loans.
“In terms of private credit origination, one of our competitive strengths is having Deutsche Bank as our parent,” Kelly said.
For banks, such tie-ups have become advantageous as they face regulatory pressures to manage default risks in a high interest-rate environment.
“It’s becoming more common to see larger asset managers team up with banks to provide a source of capital to place risk,” Kelley said.
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DWS has also said it’s targeting the ultra-wealthy in a bid to grow its alternatives business, and is working to create bespoke products to address those investors’ concerns about liquidity and transparency. Asset managers have been trying to drum up interest among wealth clients, who many say have invested less in that asset class than others.
