After nearly three years at the helm of Scudder Investments, the U.S. retail investment arm of Deutsche Bank AG, Thomas F. Eggers says, he could see the writing on the wall.
“Deutsche is in the process of globalizing its investment management business,” he said. “Instead of staying with its Scudder business in the United States and Deutsche worldwide, they are in the process of rolling out something different.”
“Deutsche is a candy store full of stuff,” he added in an interview Monday, “but it is too big a store for me.”
So Mr. Eggers traveled the four blocks back to his old stomping ground, Dreyfus Corp., where he was named president last week. “I have spent 29 years being local. I am more of a local leader,” he said.
Mr. Eggers said he is confident that Dreyfus can grow organically.
“Dreyfus has gone through a period of regulatory scrutiny in such a clean manner,” he said. “There haven’t been any issues or any problems. The reputation continues to be trustworthy. … This is an opportunity for Dreyfus to gain market share.”
Mr. Eggers originally joined Dreyfus in April 1996 as head of Dreyfus Investments. He was appointed vice chairman of Dreyfus Corp. in January 1999 and promoted to president in October 2001. He joined Scudder as president and chief executive officer in May 2002.
During his tenure at the mutual fund arm of Mellon Financial Corp., its assets under management grew to $190.5 billion, from $79.1 billion.
Mr. Eggers said he joined Scudder because he saw an opportunity to help its global financial services parent develop market share in the United States. Last December, however, Deutsche Bank announced a new global organizational structure, and Mr. Eggers decided to leave.
Early this month Deutsche Bank named Axel Benkner global head of retail for Deutsche Asset Management and Axel Schwarzer head of Scudder Investments. Mr. Schwarzer is moving to New York from Frankfurt to take up his new post, according to Rohini Pragasam, the director of U.S. press and media relations for Deutsche Bank.
Analysts said Deutsche Bank would have a difficult time developing market share in the United States, and some even speculated that it would look to sell Scudder.
Geoffrey Bobroff, an East Greenwich, R.I., analyst, said he thinks Mr. Eggers is trying to return to his strengths.
“Tom’s strength is working the mutual fund side of a mutual fund group or being inside as he was with PaineWebber,” Mr. Bobroff said. “Because of that strength he is an asset to a U.S. asset manager.”
Since his departure for Scudder, assets at Dreyfus have fallen to $163.1 billion. Patrice M. Kozlowski, a spokeswoman for Dreyfus, said the decline had nothing to do with the decision to hire Mr. Eggers.
“Dreyfus is intensifying its focus on customers and distribution activities,” Ms. Kozlowski said. “With distribution as a central focus of our growth strategy, we intend to continue to improve the focus, service, and strategic effectiveness of all of our sales efforts, both retail and intermediaries, with Tom as part of our leadership team.”
The U.S. mutual fund business has changed a lot in recent years, Mr. Eggers said. “Since I left Dreyfus everything has changed,” he said. “I mean, the building is the same, and business lines are the same, but the environment is different. The expectations have changed.”
Mr. Bobroff said Mr. Eggers can succeed again but that whether that will happen at Dreyfus is uncertain. “He is a knowledgeable and capable player in this marketplace,” Mr. Bobroff said. “The question is if he has the horse, in products, to run with.”
Mr. Eggers said the introduction of managed accounts at Dreyfus two years ago and the strength of its mutual funds give the company the horsepower it needs but that it is also willing to work with other companies when it needs to.
“Customers want choice and open architecture,” he said. “We really focus on managed accounts and mutual funds, but we are willing to work with other firms to get what our customers need.”
Dreyfus and Mellon offer a range of products that enables them to work with many different customers, Mr. Eggers said.
“Customers understand diversification and asset allocations again, and we have the ability to create the right types of products to deal with a variety of needs,” he said. “A company with the right combination of brand, marketing expertise, and product management skills has an opportunity to grow in this market.”
