FinLab AG — Board/Management Information 2011

Jan 24, 2011

News Details

Corporate | 24 January 2011 08:42

Altira Group further expands its Africa Investments business area ++ Mutual fund for African equities added to product range ++ Portfolio manager Jens Schleuniger joins the Altira Group

Altira AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

24.01.2011 / 08:42

• Altira Group further expands its Africa Investments business area
• Mutual fund for African equities added to product range
• Portfolio manager Jens Schleuniger joins the Altira Group

Frankfurt am Main, 24 January 2011 – The Altira Group is further expanding its Africa Investments business area. To this end, the company has hired Jens Schleuniger, formerly responsible at DWS for managing the EUR 340 million DWS Invest Africa equity fund, which he launched in 2008. Together with Jens Schleuniger, the Altira Group will be adding investments in African equity markets to its range of services and offering the mutual fund VCH Africa.

In 2007, the Altira Group founded the African Development Corporation (ADC), which specialized in private equity investments in the financial sector in sub-Saharan Africa. The expansion of its product range to include African equity funds therefore creates a potential for significant synergies. The same applies to work done with the Group's commodity experts, who manage more than EUR 110 million in capital in the commodity and commodity equity sectors, since the resource-rich continent of Africa is playing an increasingly important role as a field of activity for mining companies.

The DWS Invest Africa fund that the 30-year old Swiss national Jens Schleuniger launched and managed, until recently, was one of the first mutual funds investing exclusively in Africa. He also managed the DWS GO Frontier Markets fund and was co-manager for DWS Türkei. Before moving to DWS, Jens Schleuniger was responsible for strategic business development in Switzerland with JP Morgan Asset Management. Prior to that, Mr. Schleuniger held various positions with UBS in Switzerland and London. He holds a diploma in business administration.

Michael Rieder, CEO of Altira Group: 'More and more investors want to invest in Africa. And there are good reasons for this. According to figures from the McKinsey consultancy company, the highest yields for foreign direct investments are to be found in Africa. We want to provide our clients the greatest possible access to the potential offered by this dynamic economy – including equity market investments. In acquiring Jens Schleuniger, we have gained a top-notch expert for developing this business area. He knows the local markets in detail and is considered the Africa pioneer of the fund industry.'

The Altira Group

The Altira Group is an owner-managed, exchange-listed asset management company focusing on alternative investment strategies for institutional as well as private investors. In that area, it concentrates on both established as well as newly-developing, forward-looking growth markets in connection with its core areas of focus

__ German 'Mittelstand' & Restructurings

__ Renewable Energies & Natural Resources

__ Africa.

Contact

Altira Aktiengesellschaft

Olaf Meier

Head of Investor Relations

Phone: +49 69 719 12 80 123

E-Mail: olaf.meier@altira-group.de

End of Corporate News

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Language:	English
Company:	Altira AG
	Grüneburgweg 18
	60322 Frankfurt / Main
	Deutschland
Phone:	+49 (0)69 719 12 80 – 00
Fax:	+49 (0)69 719 12 80 – 011
E-mail:	info@altira-group.de
Internet:	www.altira-group.de
ISIN:	DE0001218063
WKN:	121806
Listed:	Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart; Entry Standard in Frankfurt

End of News	DGAP News-Service

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109742  24.01.2011