DWS real estate fund liquidity crisis

DWS Group is managing a liquidity crisis and devaluation within its flagship open-ended real estate funds, including Grundbesitz Europa, Grundbesitz Global, and Grundbesitz Fokus Deutschland. The Grundbesitz Europa fund saw a 7.3 percent devaluation in September 2026, driven by high interest rates and declining demand for commercial office space. Since late 2022, approximately 6 billion euros have been withdrawn from the Grundbesitz Europa fund alone.

To manage these outflows, DWS initially implemented measures such as redemption surcharges and potential temporary suspensions of redemptions if withdrawal requests reached 10 percent of available liquid assets. However, the company later announced it would continue to honor redemptions for the three funds without suspension to mitigate market concerns. To maintain liquidity, DWS is actively selling real estate assets while attempting to avoid significant losses in portfolio value during the divestment process. Additionally, the firm has decided on the full liquidation and sale of all assets for the RREEF Property Trust, subject to shareholder approval.