Sal Oppenheim, the German wealth manager, reported that its asset management business achieved a 13 per cent rise in funds under management ...

Sal Oppenheim, the German wealth manager, reported that its asset management business achieved a 13 per cent rise in funds under management in the first half of 2005, compared with the same period a year ago. Total assets under management amounted to €36.8 billion ($44.1 billion). The Cologne-based firm said there had been a particularly encouraging performance in its mutual funds business: Oppenheim Pramerica Fonds Trust, a joint venture between Sal Oppenheim and Prudential Financial. The company saw its assets under management increase by roughly 17 per cent (as at 30 June 2005) to total €10.6 billion, a new record, said the firm. “We have considerably outperformed average market growth since the launch of the joint venture in the autumn of 2002,” said Detlef Bierbaum, a managing partner at the firm, in a statement. He added: “Our strategy of bundling Sal. Oppenheim’s European competence and Prudential Financial’s expertise with regard to the US market in one entity has proven to be a success.” The firm is now the 7th largest mutual fund provider in Germany, breaking through the €7 billion mark, according to Sal Oppenheim. Sal Oppenheim recently launched WIP Global Real Estate Securities Fund has already attracted $320 million in assets under management.