Dresdner Bank Group is reviewing its Asian investment operation in a bid to eliminate any overlap and to encourage specialist development.
The bank fully owns the Kleinwort Benson Group and Thornton Management and has combined retail and institutional funds under management of about US$173 billion (about HK$1.34 trillion).
Thornton offers a specialist range of Asian funds, particularly single country funds, and is developing more comprehensive institutional products including pooled pension funds.
Kleinwort's investment management is part of its integrated financial service that includes banking, corporate finance, treasury and securities.
Thornton's managing director, Christopher Day, said: 'We still have a structure that makes common sense. But the question is how to delineate the asset management groups. Dresdner has the elements of a unique structure for global asset management.' Mr Day, who could not give a date for the review's completion, is confident that Thornton's role as a specialist player will survive the transition.
Thornton's funds under management have grown to about $2.5 billion from about $600 million in 1992.
The company is planning to complement its present range of single country funds with a range of specialist, sectoral trusts.
