Deutsche Bank is contemplating starting a fund which would use the firm's own capital and some of its top talent to invest in fixed-income and derivatives instruments, according to a senior official at the firm. The fund has been compared to several others that have lately been popping up at sell-side firms. The model often cited for such funds is UBS Principal Finance, though Credit Lyonnais started a similar fund (BW, 4/14), and Banc of America Securities has also looked at the idea (BW, 5/12). Last Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal credited a similar fund at Goldman Sachs with rescuing the firm's bottom line from a decline in investment banking business by making a series of risky bets.
The Deutsche Bank fund would be run by Pablo Calderini, a senior official at Deutsche Bank who has worked in various capacities at the firm, including head of emerging markets and global credit derivatives, and Chris English, according to the official. English did not return a call, and Calderini declined comment. The official says the contemplated fund has no connection to another Deutsche Bank fund called Winchester Capital Principal Finance (BW, 11/25) even though the heads of Winchester, Scott Eaton and Alex Graham, reportedly used to work for Calderini.