Deutsche buys stake in private equity advisory group

Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm has taken a minority stake in Aldus Equity, a US investment and advisory firm that specialises in private equity, as it looks to take advantage of growing demand for exposure to the asset class.

RREEF, the alternative investments arm of Deutsche’s asset management business, has taken an undisclosed stake in Aldus. The two will work together to produce private equity fund of funds products, and a secondary funds product, that can be marketed to Deutsche’s institutional investor and high net worth clients.

Aldus, which is headquarted in Dallas, advises on and manages dedicated private equity fund of funds and co-investment funds on behalf of US institutional investors. The firm currently has over $3 billion in assets, and has won more than $600 million of new mandates in the last three months. Partner Saul Meyer said the tie-up with Deutsche would help to accelerate the growth of the business.

The move by Deutsche continues the reorganisation of its asset management business. It recently consolidated all its alternative investment operations into RREEF, which covers four areas: real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds and private equity. Charles Leitner, head of RREEF, said partnering with Aldus would enable Deutsche “to tap into the growing demand among our clients for sophisticated private equity offerings”. He said Aldus’s relationship with US public pension funds was a big factor in their choice.