DWS Names Matthias Naumann CIO for Asia Pacific Real Estate

DWS is signaling its growth aspirations in Asia with the appointment of Matthias Naumann as chief investment officer of Asia Pacific real estate, marking the first time the German investment manager has stationed a dedicated real estate CIO in the region.

Naumann, who has been covering the Asia Pacific real estate CIO role in a caretaker capacity since January 2021, will relocate to Sydney from DWS’ Frankfurt headquarters, and will report to Singapore-based Christopher Kimm, DWS’ head of Asia Pacific real estate.

“Following extensive time spent in Asia Pacific, the timing was right to relocate equipped with a sound understanding of the region, its nuances and unique investment characteristics,” Naumann said in a release on Tuesday. “As a new investment cycle emerges, we believe Australian real estate will offer immediate investment opportunities in BTR, Logistics and Next Generation Office, while we continue to test pricing to re-enter strategic segments of the Japanese and Korean markets very soon.”

In his new role, Naumann will be responsible for identifying real estate investment opportunities and working with respective country heads in Australia, Korea, Japan and Singapore – markets where DWS already has an established presence – as well as exploring new markets for strategic growth.

From Europe to Asia

Having joined DWS in 2013 as head of European real estate strategy, Naumann was appointed as the fund manager’s CIO of European real estate in 2019, and continued carrying out his European responsibilities after taking on the Asia Pacific real estate CIO role in a caretaker capacity in January 2021.

During this time, Naumann also chaired the Asia Pacific real estate investment committee and held positions on both the Europe and Asia Pacific real estate leadership teams.

“We are pleased to welcome Matthias as our first dedicated real estate CIO in the region signifying our commitment to growing the platform,” said Christopher Kimm, DWS’ head of Asia Pacific real estate. “Matthias’ substantial track record built with our European real estate platform, combined with his already deep understanding of the APAC investment market makes him an ideal candidate to support the region’s sustainable AuM and revenue growth through the upcoming investment cycle.”

Prior to joining DWS, Naumann served as a London-based senior analyst at AXA Investment Managers, and worked as a research analyst for Invesco Real Estate based in Munich.

Naumann will continue to contribute to the house view processes for both Asia Pacific and Europe and remains chief strategist for DWS Real Estate in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

“I am proud of DWS Real Estate’s deep investment heritage in Asia Pacific spanning decades and am confident Matthias’ extensive knowledge and proven ability as a real estate CIO with our European business will further strengthen our Asia Pacific platform working with Chris and our regional teams,” said Clemens Schaefer, global head of APAC and EMEA real estate.

Asia Buildout

DWS Real Estate, the property investment unit under DWS Group’s alternatives investment platform, managed €76 billion of global assets across core, value-added and opportunistic real estate strategies, real estate debt and real estate securities as of December.

The unit made several Asia-based appointments last year, including promoting Koichiro Obu to head of real estate for Japan, naming Leiting Deng as head of real estate for Singapore, and appointing Junghoon (Phil) Kook as head of real estate for Korea.

DWS Group managed €941 billion of global assets as of March, of which 11 percent was allocated to alternatives investments, including real estate and infrastructure. Asia Pacific assets accounted for 5 percent of the fund manager’s total assets under management at the same point in time.

Last month, DWS Group promoted Lidia Tomova to chief executive officer for Australia, as well as chairperson of DWS Investments Australia Limited, pending regulatory approval. That appointment came after the December promotion of Ivy Ng as chief investment officer for Asia Pacific.

DWS Group had previously been operated as a unit of German financial services firm Deutsche Bank until its IPO on the Frankfurt bourse in 2018. The lender held a 79.49 percent stake in DWS as of December, while Japanese insurer Nippon Life was its second largest shareholder with a 5 percent stake.