DWS boss Asoka Wöhrmann has rejected all allegations after reports of alleged mistakes in corporate management and in connection with sustainable investments.

"Since April last year, DWS and I have been the target of many attacks," said Woehrmann on Thursday at the Deutsche Bank subsidiary's online balance sheet press conference.

These attacks targeted DWS' reputation as well as its own reputation and well-being.

"I expressly reject all of these allegations and insinuations," emphasized Wöhrmann.

You should obviously meet him.

"But I don't let myself be intimidated and prevented from my work."

DWS hit the headlines last year with accusations of “greenwashing”. The background to this was allegations by the former head of the sustainability division, Desiree Fixler, that the asset manager was too lax with the criteria for sustainable investments. According to insiders, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the German financial regulator BaFin got involved. In the meantime, the labor court in Frankfurt has dismissed Fixler's lawsuit against her dismissal. Wöhrmann welcomed the court's decision on Thursday.

In the past few months, Wöhrmann had received several anonymous threatening letters, some of which contained racist insults. The manager with German nationality was born in Sri Lanka in 1965. In the past few days, there have been further media reports accusing Wöhrmann of misconduct in connection with corporate governance standards. These are not related to the allegations about ESG investments that DWS has long rejected.

Investment products in particular, which are designed to meet special requirements in terms of environmental protection, social standards and good corporate governance (ESG), have recently been booming at DWS.

"Our customers have spoken," said Wöhrmann.

"Your commitment despite all these unfounded allegations is remarkable." It shows the trust that DWS enjoys among customers.

ESG products accounted for 40 percent of the total net fund inflows of 47.7 billion euros last year, as reported by DWS.

The company made a record profit of over one billion euros in 2021.

The fund company is around 80 percent owned by Deutsche Bank, which reported the second annual profit in a row after a series of losses for 2021.

The DWS share, which is included in the small-cap index S-Dax, fell abruptly from a high of almost 42 euros at the end of August when the first reports emerged that DWS had been targeted by investigators in connection with its sustainability investments in the USA.

The price has not fully recovered since then and has suffered a new setback in the past few days.

On Thursday, the papers were in demand after the balance sheet was presented, they rose by 1.2 percent to 36.26 euros.