Alternatives

EUR 111bn Assets under Management

What do we do?

With alternatives expertise that spans more than 50 years, we offer a diverse range of strategies and solutions across the alternatives spectrum. The Alternatives business includes private real estate (equity and debt), private infrastructure (equity and debt), liquid real assets (real estate/infrastructure, and commodity securities), sustainable investments, and direct lending.
Working from an integrated platform with a global network of investment specialists, we are committed to fulfilling our fiduciary obligation to deliver strategies and solutions that meet our clients' specific investment needs.
Our global team invests on behalf of and services our global client base that includes individuals, governments, corporations and institutional investors.

Private Real Estate	Direct real estate investments covering core, core plus, value-added, and debt strategies 1,054 properties and approximately 144 million square feet
Private Infrastructure	Direct equity and debt investments focusing on economic infrastructure assets Includes transportation, utilities, and energy
Liquid Real Assets	Global and regional real estate securities Global infrastructure, securities Active commodities
Sustainable Investments	Private equity and debt-type strategies Complements the more liquid sustainability-related strategies
Private Debt	Extensive debt capabilities span the breadth of our Alternative’s asset classes encompassing the full capital structure, supported by deep expertise and established track record. real estate, infrastructure, corporate and sustainable investments dedicated ESG and impact debt strategies senior, junior and mezzanine lending more than 40 private debt investment professionals and 25 research experts globally in excess of EUR 7.5bn lent through over 400 debt transactions^[2]

. Not all DWS products and services are offered in all jurisdictions and availability is subject to local regulatory restrictions and requirements.

Distinct characteristics of the Alternatives business

Strong fiduciary focus

Our culture is built around acting as a fiduciary to our clients
We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and transparency in all aspects of managing our clients’ investments

Responsible investors

ESG-focused real estate investment approach

A pioneer and thought leader in sustainable real estate for more than a decade, we were among the founding members of the Urban Land Institute’s Greenprint Index^[3]. The Index engages real estate owners to collectively track and reduce the carbon footprint of global real estate.
Commitment to improve the energy efficiency of our real estate portfolios by 20% before 2020 as part of the US Better Buildings Challenge met four years ahead of schedule in 2016.

Download: Private Real Estate Global Sustainability Framework

Thought leadership in global real estate and infrastructure research

The depth of insights from our integrated top-down and bottom-up approach gives us unique perspective into markets and allows us to develop actionable strategies for our clients’ portfolios.

Risk management

Our rigorous lifecycle approach is designed to identify, implement and monitor investment themes and tactics to achieve competitive long-term, risk-adjusted returns for our clients.

Liquid Real Assets

Liquid Real Assets enable liquid investment in real assets such as real estate, infrastructure or even commodities.

Infrastructure

Real Estate

Real estate investing provides opportunities through both equity and debt to diversify returns and generate cash flow with a relatively low correlation to traditional investments.

Sustainable Investments

DWS's Sustainable Investments team creates solutions for institutional, private investors, development banks, and governments, who share common social and environmental investment objectives and seek attractive financial returns.