Corporate News

Lloyd Fonds AG obtains BaFin approval to acquire 90 percent of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH

- Owner control investigation by BaFin completed successfully, fulfilling an important prerequisite to closing

- Implementation preparations for completion of the SPSW Capital GmbH transaction according to plan

- Money-market-oriented ASSETS Defensive Opportunities UI fund and bonds-oriented ASSETS Special Opportunities mixed fund become part of the Lloyd Fonds line

- Thomas Lange, managing partner of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH, committed as managing director for a long time

Owner control investigation by BaFin completed successfully

In the context of the transfer of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH to Lloyd Fonds AG, the owner control investigation by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has been completed successfully. With that, Lloyd Fonds AG can now transfer 90 per cent of the shares in Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH to Lloyd Fonds AG against issuing new stocks of Lloyd Fonds AG and payment of an additional cash component. In addition to this, Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH has an option for selling the remaining ten per cent of its shares at the earliest after four years. The successful completion of the owner control investigation means fulfilment of an essential prerequisite to closing.

Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH was established at the end of 2005. The Hamburg-based asset management company serves wealthy private clients, family offices and trusts and has a total of approximately EUR 350 m assets under management (AuM).

Its founding members are the Hamburg merchants Axel Sven Springer, John Jahr, Oliver Heine and the managing partner Thomas Lange. Upon performance of the transaction, all shareholders of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH will become shareholders of Lloyd Fonds AG. Moreover, the shareholders voted the lawyer Oliver Heine on the supervisory board at the 2019 general meeting of Lloyd Fonds AG. Oliver Heine has been a member of the supervisory board of Axel Springer SE for almost fifteen years.

Klaus M. Pinter, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Lloyd Fonds AG, said: "The successful completion of the owner control investigation is an important step towards implementing our 2019+ strategy. We will now be able to close the transaction expeditiously in the next few weeks. With Thomas Lange and his team, we take an experienced asset manager on board who enjoys an excellent reputation in the industry. He widens our network and gives us even broader access to wealthy private and institutional investors. I look forward to working with him."

Implementation preparations for SPSW Capital GmbH on schedule

An owner control investigation regarding the acquisition of 90 per cent of the shares in SPSW Capital GmbH is likewise in progress at the BaFin. The investment company manages two public funds and a special fund for asset management with AuM totalling nearly EUR 650 m. In the owner control investigation regarding SPSW Capital GmbH, BaFin has already declared the so-called confirmation of completeness. Insofar, Lloyd Fonds AG expects the transaction to proceed and be closed as planned, especially after the successful completion of the owner control investigation regarding Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH.

Money-market-oriented ASSETS Defensive Opportunities UI fund and bonds-oriented ASSETS Special Opportunities mixed fund become part of the Lloyd Fonds line

In addition to asset management for private and institutional investors, the fund advice services of the money-market-oriented ASSETS Defensive Opportunities UI fund (share class A, securities identification number: A1H72N, share class B, securities identification number: A1JGBT) and the bonds-oriented ASSETS Special Opportunities mixed fund (share class A, securities identification number: AOQ8A5) are part of the business areas of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH.

The investment objective of the money-market-oriented ASSETS Defensive Opportunities UI bond fund launched already in 2011 is to achieve a steady rate of return higher than that of the money market at a very low fluctuation margin. This aim is to be achieved by a broad diversification of assets in interest-bearing securities with a short residual term, selected defensive certificate structures and investment funds. In its article "Geld richtig anlegen" (investing money the right way), Wirtschaftswoche has just recently described the ASSETS Defensive Opportunities UI as one of the "investment funds that buy investors the competence of the asset managers of the superrich". The money-market-oriented bond fund has the 5-star top grade by Morningstar and, with Thomas Lange as fund advisor, a Citywire A-rating.

The bonds-oriented ASSETS Special Opportunities mixed fund uses special investment opportunities that result from special market movements and developments of companies. The focus is on fixed-interest securities, including convertible bonds. However, stocks, certificates and bond derivatives may also be bought, depending on the situation.

"I welcome Thomas Lange warmly to our executive team at Lloyd Fonds AG," rejoices Michael Schmidt, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Lloyd Fonds AG. "The two investment funds are an ideal supplement to our line of funds as they are likewise based on an active investment approach. With his many years of expertise as an asset and fund manager, Thomas Lange will enhance our team of fund managers."

Thomas Lange, managing partner of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH, committed as managing director for a long time

Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH will be integrated further into the Lloyd Fonds group in the next months. The asset manager will then also be able to access the services offered by the Lloyd Fonds group.

Full continuity is guaranteed for the clients of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH. Thomas Lange, managing partner of Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH, was committed to the company for a long time. Furthermore, all employees will remain and guarantee continued independent support of the asset management mandates with utmost care. Lange Assets & Consulting GmbH will receive even more room for growing with attractive clients.

Thomas Lange on this: "We profit from the competence and the entire network of the Lloyd Fonds group. Administrative activities such as regulatory matters, compliance, money laundering and much more will in the future be provided by the new partner. Due to this, we can fully concentrate on giving advice to our clients. We have won new customers already in recent months and will clearly expand our AuM. And I also look forward to exchanging views with the team of fund managers and to exploiting synergies."

About Lloyd Fonds AG:

Lloyd Fonds AG is a bank independent wealth manager and active asset manager*. It has been listed on the stock market since 2005 and joined Deutsche Börse's Scale Standard in March 2017. (Deutsche Börse Scale, ISIN DE000A12UP29).

The new business model is based on three pillars. LF-Linie offers a clearly structured range of open-end investment funds for a broad public. Experienced asset managers actively manage them with clearly defined investment objectives and transparent return and risk profiles. The LF-System entails digital products for asset accumulation optimisation. The algorithm developed for this purpose by a dedicated team of experts is based on artificial intelligence, assembling optimised individual customer portfolios. The LF-Assets pillar offers wealthy clients comprehensvie advice in all financial matters. This is done by using the market expertise of the Lloyd Fonds Group for investments in direct investments and investments into funds and real estate.

The aim of the strategy 2019+ is to position Lloyd Fonds AG as an innovative quality leader in fund and asset management in Germany.

* Among other things, subject to regulatory approvals