What distinguishes Deka’s investment strategies?
Deka offers clear, coherent fund concepts for all investor groups. This starts with yield-oriented investments through to opportunity-oriented investments that are already moving in the direction of equities. We have the right system for all individual needs. A key issue for us is innovation. Because we are not the only ones to realize that the world is moving extremely fast. That’s why we founded a research institute that helps us find ideas, test them and put them into products in order to generate positive benefits for customers.
How does successful pension fund management work in the low-interest phase?
In bond fund management, we believe that it is a very good setup if we do portfolio management and research in one person. This makes us more flexible, we can act faster on the market and actually lay the foundation for generating alpha. You also need a very clear investment process. That means you have to take risks to generate returns. And the risks that we take, we will take in the environment in order to collect premiums. This enables us to deliver the best possible results for the customer. On the basis of a very wide range, we can allow customers to participate in all developments on the bond market.
What is the main feature of your house in the area of mixed funds? What were the key success factors?
I think that in mixed fund management in particular we benefit from the very broad base that we have. Our portfolio includes many products that ideally match the needs of our customers. To do this, we have a broad team of young, highly qualified talents and experienced managers who have access to all of Deka’s expertise. With these balanced portfolios, we can take advantage of the opportunities that are available on the market and thus generate performance.
How do you see the development of the international financial markets and the bond markets in 2022? In which areas do you see the greatest potential?
Since we don’t know exactly how inflation will develop, we have to act flexibly. A long-term prognosis is not possible. Instead, we must adapt to what is to come. If inflation stays below two percent and if the central banks are not forced to act, then we can assume that the stock markets will develop very well again – across the board. We can assume that pensions will then also develop properly. If inflation rises to over two percent, the bond markets could come under some pressure – possibly also the stock markets in the first few months. But then they will recover a bit. Even with slightly moderate interest rate increases and a reasonable environment on the growth side, we still have companies that can handle it well and we can continue to generate profits. At the moment we’re driving a bit more defensively. This is certainly due to the fact that the markets made an enormous spurt at the end of the day. The reporting season will soon be over and given the current situation, a somewhat more defensive positioning is certainly sensible.