MSN MoneyCentral – FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)- Hedge funds and private equity firms should take an active role in the companies in which they are invested and should not be criticized for doing so,Deutsche Bank AG’s chief executive said Tuesday.
Investors who express opinions on strategy, or against management, and fight for return on their investments through payout of profits are “still met with no understanding in Germany,” Josef Ackermann said.
“This is very regrettable,” Ackermann, CEO of the nation’s biggest bank, said.
“We should be open to the interest of foreign investors who bring capital and expertise in Germany,” he said.
He added, though, that the private equity and hedge fund business is still new and must mature, particularly when it comes to communication.
Ackermann’s remarks came just two weeks after New York hedge fund Atticus Capital LP criticized German stock exchange Deutsche Boerse AG’s plan to acquire U.S. options exchange International Securities Exchange Inc.
