ZEh, Asoka Wöhrmann looks into the camera for fifteen seconds. Maybe he’s waiting for a signal to start his speech at the virtual general meeting of the fund company DWS. It has been clear since last week that it will be his last general meeting at the helm of DWS.
A few hours after the public prosecutor’s office had searched the offices of DWS and Deutsche Bank, which was not entitled to vote on the discharge of the management, it became known that Wöhrmann was resigning from his position as chairman of the management board of the fund company. The accusations have so far not been proven: Financial products are said to have been declared as more sustainable than they actually were – the English term “greenwashing” has also become common in German.
In this context, the first few seconds of Wöhrmann’s last appearance are particularly effective: as if he were staring at his opponents, wanting to say to them wordlessly: What do you actually want from me? Except for a few sentences at the end, what Wöhrmann had to say had already been published beforehand. That’s what Deutsche Bank thinks and that’s what its subsidiary does too. What was exciting, however, was how Wöhrmann delivered his speech: “In the last few months, accusations have been made against DWS and me. Allegations of greenwashing, but also personal attacks and threats. No matter how unfounded or untenable they all are, they have left their mark. (…) The business of DWS, the fiduciary asset management for customers, is too important to be overshadowed.”
Wöhrmann speaks in a solemn voice, almost reproachfully. Then his timbre changes, pride is clearly heard. It “was the most successful year for DWS ever.” “Having already achieved the goals we set for the IPO ahead of schedule in the 2020 financial year, the cash inflows in 2021 are key proof of the already successful implementation of our growth plan in the second phase of DWS.”
“Our customers have spoken”
Wöhrmann does not leave the allegations unmentioned. “We firmly denied all allegations on August 26, 2021, the day after the article alleging a former employee was published, along with the information that regulators are investigating these allegations. Since then, we have been working fully with all regulators and authorities. He indirectly indicates that the verdict has already been made for him and that the acquittal reads: “You could also say: Our customers have spoken. These sustained inflows into ESG products not only demonstrate the great trust placed in us by our customers, but also the quality of our ESG offering.”
And further: “We never made a secret of the fact that it would be an effort. We also never said that we were already there.” Of course, Wöhrmann leaves it open how far away DWS is. Then, at the end, came the part of his speech that was not published in advance. In the manuscript, “Personal remarks” is written in square brackets. The moment when Wöhrmann might admit wrongdoing after all? no Wöhrmann thanks his employees. “You all have made DWS and me successful.” Then his voice becomes melancholic again: “DWS was more to me than my professional home. She was part of my family.” What followed were good wishes for his successor, Stefan Hoops.
Of course, shareholders had questions about greenwashing. Wöhrmann left the answer to his management colleagues Stefan Kreuzkamp and Manfred Bauer. What burdens does the company expect as a result of the allegations? That cannot yet be seriously quantified. What is management doing to refute the allegations? The brand has been sharpened. Why did the investigation come about? When do you expect the allegations to be resolved? “We take the allegations very seriously and are working with the responsible authorities.”
The word special committee is mentioned again and again. The Supervisory Board committee reports weekly to the control committee. Chairman of the supervisory board Karl von Rohr, who is also deputy chairman of the board of the main shareholder Deutsche Bank, did not want to share his knowledge on a large scale. Again and again the sentence “So far we have no knowledge.” Von von Rohr does not want to reveal which selection process the Wöhrmann successor Hoops went through. “That’s not the subject of the general meeting,” he brushes off the question.
The speechlessness is not reflected in the voting result of the minority shareholders: 82.4 percent voted for the discharge of the management around Wöhrmann. On the supervisory board, it was still 81.8 percent. Not a dream result, but also not a slap in the face. The investors judged differently: The shares of the listed fund company lost 2.7 percent by Thursday afternoon – that hurts Wöhrmann probably more than the voting result at the general meeting. In his speech he described the correction of the price as “not justified”.