DWS is the global brand name of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA, a German asset manager headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. The DWS acronym has roots in the German market going back over 60 years, and the company adopted it as its global umbrella brand in 2018, replacing the Deutsche Asset Management (Deutsche AM) name. The rebranding united all asset management business lines under one brand, while product-level labels such as Xtrackers and RREEF were retained and linked to the new global brand.[1]
Design and History
In December 2017, Deutsche Asset Management announced it would introduce DWS as its new global brand, with a new logo that “embodies the dynamic and forward thinking identity of the brand.” The rebranding of all legal entities and product lines was completed in 2018.[1] The new logo was publicly shown when DWS Group made its debut on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on March 23, 2018.[2]
The 2018 identity replaced an earlier DWS logo featuring an open hexagon. The new mark introduced a double diagonal line placed before the DWS lettering. According to a company statement, the logo connects “successful tradition with a dynamic directed toward the future.” The two diagonal lines, ascending from left to right, were described as symbolizing positive financial development. The diagonal double stroke also establishes a direct visual reference to the slash used by parent company Deutsche Bank.[3]
The new logo was introduced as a monochrome design, following an earlier move away from the former house color blue.[3] The European Union trademark registration for the DWS figurative mark, filed in November 2017 and registered in March 2018, lists design categories including “two lines or bands” and “oblique lines or bands.”[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
In a sponsor interview published in 2018, DWS explained the meaning of the two lines in its new logo: “The two lines each stand for something different. The first one stands for our rich and successful heritage, and the second line expresses the dynamic and forward-thinking way in which we seek to do business and our ambition to deliver sustainable performance to all our clients and stakeholders.”[5]
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