DWS profits sink in Q1 despite return to net inflows

DWS reported its adjusted profits before tax had fallen 19% to €206m in Q1 2023, despite seeing a return to net inflows.

In a quarterly statement today (April 27), the firm said its adjusted profits before tax were down 26% year-on-year, a 12% miss according to Jefferies.

The results revealed a 54% drop in performance and transaction fees to €24m and a 3% fall in management fees led adjusted net revenue to miss targets by 5%.

This was due to a favourable one-off cost effect in the previous quarter, along with lower revenues, the firm said.

Net inflows excluding cash increased to €8.8bn in Q1, compared to €9.6bn in outflows in the previous quarter, driven by flows into multi-asset (€5.6bn) and passives (€4.4bn).

This, along with "decent" investment performance, according to Jefferies, pushed the firm's asset under management to €841bn, up from €821bn at the end of last year.

DWS reiterated its expectation of "materially" flat revenues in 2023, with its outlook unchanged from its annual report published last year.