German regional bank extends fund management to Asia

WestAM, the asset management arm of WestLB, Germany's largest landesbank (regional bank), with $40 billion under management, has begun marketing to institutional investors in North Asia. Rupert Rucker, director and head of new business development and client servicing for Asia ex-Japan, has been pounding the pavement from his new base in Hong Kong. He says the firm has a 10-year plan for breaking into asset management in the region, starting by leveraging contacts from WestLB, which …